For Immediate Release
August 23, 2021
Longwood Public Library is Certified Sustainable
The Sustainable Libraries Initiative has recognized Longwood Public Library as a leader in sustainability.
Suffolk County, New York – August 23, 2021 – Longwood Public Library in Middle Island, NY, has been certified as a "Sustainable Library" through the award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program. This ground-breaking initiative guides library leaders through a step by step process to infuse triple bottom line sustainable decision making into their library's policies and actions. Longwood Public Library will be recognized at the 2021 Annual Conference of the New York Library Association held in Syracuse, NY November 3rd-6th, 2021.
With so many challenges unfolding over the past 18 months, the actions involved in the completion of this certification have helped to strengthen the partnerships between Longwood Public Library and community organizations at a critical time. "Going through the process encouraged us to seek out additional partnerships, such as one that resulted in the installation of a Little Free Pantry at the library," said Lisa Jacobs, Longwood Public Library Director. The rigorous certification process, which has distinct paths tailored to public, academic, and school librarians, is designed to assist libraries in evaluating and reflecting on their current and future actions in the areas of environmental stewardship, social equity, and financial solvency. This realignment of the path forward strives to meet the needs of both their communities and the environment.
International Impact
Longwood Public Library is among the first libraries to participate in the Sustainable Library Certification program, the first of its kind in the world to assist libraries of all types – public, academic, and school – to assess their opportunities to make better choices on behalf of the local and global community.
The program has been recognized by the International Federation of Library Associations at their 2019 World Congress in Athens, Greece, becoming the first program in the United States to be honored through their "Green Libraries" Award.
Comprehensive Approach
With categories of actions focusing on each of the three pillars of triple bottom line sustainability such as Collective Impact, Resilience Planning, Energy, and Materials, this comprehensive process leads a library toward institutional change that shifts the rationale for every decision to consider both the local and global impacts. Library Director, Lisa Jacobs, describes how completing the certification process aligned the values of the library with their community and provided a new framework for their organizational decision making:
"Sustainability is a core part of who we are and what we do at Longwood Public Library. We are lucky that our community had the foresight to endorse a LEED Platinum building design several years ago. Going through the Sustainable Libraries Certification process has helped employees throughout our library add the sustainability 'lens' to many of our day-to-day practices. We look forward to incorporating even more sustainable practices into our service plan in the future."
The Sustainable Libraries Initiative is expanding throughout New York State, with forty libraries and school librarians currently enrolled in the Sustainable Libraries Certification Program. A nationwide and Academic Library rollout is planned later this year.
For more information please contact:
Annemarie Gordon, Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainable Libraries Initiative
631.286.1600 x1355
sliadmin@suffolknet.org
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Annemarie Gordon
Sustainability Coodinator
Suffolk Cooperative Library Sytem
She/Her/Hers
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