#10 Acting ethically when climate change presents such an overwhelming challenge

Josie Wilson, Apprentice Library Assistant, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

Before I went to the Green Libraries Conference, I had been thinking and attending meetings about sustainability. However, I was uncertain about what I could do to make a difference in the NHS library where I work. This encouraged me to apply for a bursary to attend the conference. I am grateful to have received the bursary, and I left with plenty of ideas! 

The opening keynote of the conference by Natalie Bennett, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle introduced the idea of hope which reoccurred throughout the day. Their talk discussed the need for books and media that give people hope and empower them to make a difference to create a better future. Her talk championed an active rather than passive outlook. She warned against a ‘business as usual but with technology’ approach to sustainability, something I felt was important for libraries to consider. She also emphasised the need for spaces where communities feel empowered to make a difference. This made me consider how NHS libraries could become spaces where healthcare communities feel empowered to create a more sustainable future. 

Cultivating Communities 

This led well into the next session that I attended on cultivating communities and a sense of place. Andrea Ku’s insight into viewing nature as a library and Louise Morgan’s description of the vast sustainable activities that had taken place in Bridgend College expanded my understanding of what this could look like. Both speakers described projects where libraries have been a place that connects their community with nature and sustainable ideas. I believe that NHS libraries have a role to play in considering how the relationship between communities and sustainability also relates to health outcomes. 

‘Sites of exchange’ 

In the afternoon, Rachael Brown’s keynote was very impactful emphasising the power of imagination and storytelling through the idea of ‘Hopepunk’. She shared designs by students of ‘sites of exchange’ where global issues are addressed. This combined with attending the parallel session on global green initiatives balanced the local action and global nature of sustainability work in libraries. 

Through a range of discussions, I learnt some very practical ideas of how NHS libraries can address sustainability such as methods for energy and waste reduction in the library space, carbon literacy training and supporting users to make their homes sustainable. The final keynote by author Piers Torday even led me to consider how books themselves could be made to be more sustainable, something that I had not considered before! However, in addition to this the conference also presented a more abstract idea of how libraries can be places that can help to generate change, optimism, and hope. In the future, I would like to use what I learnt at the conference to try and create a sustainability display in the library that supports this sense of hope. 

Within my apprenticeship, I have had to consider what practicing in an ethical manner involves. This conference expanded my understanding of what it means for libraries to act ethically when climate change presents such an overwhelming challenge. Thank you for the funding I received to attend this conference.