This article is brought to you by the IFLA Environment, Sustainability and Libraries (ENSULIB) Section.

Extreme weather has been progressing for decades, especially in recent years. Heatwaves, floods, droughts and fires are caused by climate change. In the article, The Green Library Movement (2008), Monika Antonelli focused largely on the environmental awareness of library buildings, like most others in the early 2000s. Along with library buildings, libraries have entered the discussion as representatives of the sharing and circular economy. The UN Sustainable Development Goals brought a strong demand for social sustainability and efforts to promote equality, quality education and sustainable infrastructure. Furthermore, libraries have also adopted environmental education as part of their tasks to raise public awareness on climate change and to take urgent climate action. These changes can also be traced in ENSULIB’s work – for example, the IFLA Green Library Award. 

The IFLA Green Library Award, founded in 2016, aims to reward green libraries and green library projects that best communicate their commitment to environmental, economic and social sustainability. This year ENSULIB received significantly more submissions in the project category than in the library building category. Because of this, in addition to the three green library buildings, five library environmental projects were also accepted as finalists. By also considering the geographical diversity, the top 8 eight submissions 2024 have been published representing the current trends and best practices of green and sustainable libraries worldwide.  The final winners will be announced at the ENSULIB event in October in Barcelona. Relevant presentations and videos will be released on ENSULIB’s social media. Please feel free to check them out soon.  

Meanwhile, ENSULIB’s current book project on “Libraries Driving Education for Sustainable Development” (working title) is well under way and will be presented at the IFLA Information Futures Summit (IIFS) in October this year in Brisbane, Australia.

A project to develop “IFLA Guidelines for Green and Sustainable Libraries” has been approved by the IFLA Committee on Standards. Publication of the Guidelines is planned for February 2025. Tips and contributions from outside ENSULIB are still welcome.