News to use

Libraries are leaders in environmental sustainability and responsibility. What concerns people concerns libraries. So environmental sustainability and responsibility are library concerns. As gateways to information, libraries are seen as leaders in the community. In this place libraries can serve to lead users, members and the community in the environmental sustainability movement.
An article full of resources and ideas is in The Unabashed Librarian and the article title is Going Green Starts @ Your Library. This is found in Ebsco's GreenFile database.
Libraryjournal.com's Design Institute has been sponsoring a series of seminars with the going green theme. Number six will be December 11, when our blogs are due. Information can be found at www.libraryjournal.com/info/CA6672415.html and this one is free. This seminar is in Texas and is a one day seminar on green design, plus an optional tour of Dallas Public Library's new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) libraries. They will bring together leading architects, designers, librarians and vendors for the challenges facing libraries creating 21st century sustainable buildings. This is a day long series of green themed presentations, panels and breakout sessions to learn the developments, options, costs and strategies being developed. Also each attendee with have the opportunity to participate in two hands on breakout sessions with architects. The focus of the breakout sessions will be design challenges submitted by attendees prior to the event. All attendees will have a chance for their design challenge to be selected by the architects. The design challenges need not be solely going green, but the architects will incorporate green solutions.
Louisville Free Public Library has a monthly 6R Movement program for ages 12-19. Students learn to reduce waste and reuse unwanted or discarded items by creating unique, environmentally friendly products. The next program is November 9, 2009. The six Rs are Reduce, Reuse, Reclaim, Redesign, Recycle and Renew. It is not the three Rs anymore.