Sustainability Round Table Members Community

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A working space for the Sustainability Round Table.

  • 1.  Sustainability at #ALAMW19

    Posted Oct 16, 2018 12:06 PM
    I was just looking at the website for ALA Midwinter in Seattle, Washington (#ALAMW19)

    The good news is, there is a page to address sustainability at the conference: Think Fit @ ALA & Green Efforts | ALA Midwinter 2019

    I'm glad to see the page there, but at the same time the information seems kind of rudimentary. 

    I'd love to hear your ideas for how SustainRT could improve this.  What could we do to help offer better information for a more sustainable conference?

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    Amy Brunvand
    Associate Librarian
    University of Utah
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  • 2.  RE: Sustainability at #ALAMW19

    Posted Oct 19, 2018 12:11 PM

    This is something that the SustainRT Governance group has been working on and will likely continue with in the year ahead. Once there is a draft proposal, it would come to the SustainRT board.

     

    Uta

    SustainRT, Coordinator-elect

    Schedule an Appointment

     

    ______________________________

    Uta Hussong-Christian

    Associate Professor  | Science Librarian

    Oregon State University

     




    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Sustainability at #ALAMW19

    Posted Oct 20, 2018 11:46 AM

    It would cut into the attendance that ALA would like to see, but promoting distance attendance or somehow virtually meeting would certainly cut down on the carbon of air travel as well as the associated resource use of bringing thousands of people together. 

    As long as there are meetings and people are traveling to attend, perhaps there are more travel tips that could be encouraged, like bring your own soap and shampoo, water glass or travel mug, etc. for use in motel rooms, travel utensils, etc.  I remember a few years ago we had a discussion in Orlando about all the things people did while traveling to cut down on waste.

    I'd also suggest basic mindfulness practice about attendance - walking vs. using a vehicle, trash vs. recycling, eating a more sustainable diet, grabbing/providing useless swag without thinking, vendors - bring only what you can use or re-use rather than throwing out tons of stuff at the end of the conference.



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    Steve Herminghausen
    Lead Librarian
    Worthington Libraries
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Sustainability at #ALAMW19

    Posted Oct 26, 2018 07:55 PM
    ​More than several years ago, the (now defunct) Task Force on the Environment sponsored a rather successful bike-rental service in the Downtown portion of the ALA Annual in Chicago. It was a FANTASTIC way to travel from one hotel venue to another. It had a VERY short life, as TFOE was told by ALA that such a service under the umbrella of ALA 'sponsorship" or "endorsement" had all sorts of complicate and COSTLY insurance issues with which to deal. Jonathan Betz-Zahl and I were never able to work with ALA to bring the bike thing back to an ALA Annual or Midwinter. We all tried. It just did not work out.

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    Frederick Stoss
    Librarian
    University of Buffalo ( SUNY )Science & Engineering Library
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Sustainability at #ALAMW19

    Posted Oct 29, 2018 01:31 PM
    It looks like upcoming conferences might have good access to bike share services:

     Seattle has Lime bike share: https://www.li.me/

    Washington D.C. has Capitol bike share: https://www.capitalbikeshare.com/


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    Amy Brunvand
    Associate Librarian
    University of Utah
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Sustainability at #ALAMW19

    Posted Oct 26, 2018 08:11 PM
    Edited by Frederick Stoss Oct 26, 2018 08:13 PM
    ​First and foremost: you have to have a really good relationship with ALA's Conference Services Office and they have to have a great relationship with the city government agencies in which the conference is held. All parties have to essentially abide by the governing bodies, rules, regulations, guidelines. If there is no city recycling program, don't expect to see a lot of opportunities to recycle. In general cities are greatly improving.

    There is a BIG sustainability/footprint issue with which to deal: the exhibitors and the amount of paper they bring. Some publishers will give most if not all of their books and resources to the city's public library system, and other librarians who routinely attend ALA Meetings for this very purpose. There is a round table for exhibitors, and there are members that would be great speakers for a SustainRT joint program, which may have already been done and a relationship formed.

    Over the years the Task Force on the Environment got some movement from ALA on recycling, reducing paper and using recycled paper for photocopying, and using non-chlorinated paper stock where ever possible. Some of these were never officially adopted (BARC and other financial concerns were raised, but there were efforts to address the issues with some limited amounts of success--I have no idea what current practices are in place now).

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    [Frederick] [Stoss]
    [Librarian]
    [SUNY University at Buffalo][Science and Engineering Information Center][fstoss@buffalo.edu]
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Sustainability at #ALAMW19

    Posted Oct 29, 2018 03:26 PM

    Thinking through the responses, it seems to me that there are three different overlapping audiences for conference sustainability information. 

    1) Sustainable Conference organization and venue
    2) Carbon reduction and offsets for conference travel
    3) Sustainability considerations for attendees during the conference

    It may be too late for 1), but probably not for 2) and 3). 

    Thoughts?





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    Amy Brunvand
    Associate Librarian
    University of Utah
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Sustainability at #ALAMW19

    Posted Oct 30, 2018 02:50 PM

    I have very recent experience working with American Association of Law Librarians (AALL) on carbon offsets for conference travel (for AALL regional chapter meetings too). Let me know if you want my help on this topic.

     

    David

     

    David Selden  M.L.S.
    National Indian Law Library/NARF

    Boulder, CO | dselden@narf.org | www.narf.org/nill/
    There is light at the end of the tunnel – we are the light.

     




    Original Message