#8 Empowering individuals and communities and inspiring change

Bethan Morgan, Librarian,  Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust 

Natalie Bennett, former leader of the Green Party and member of the House of Lords, opened the conference. She gave an inspiring keynote on how history is not pre-written. It is very easy to resign ourselves to the looming destruction of our planet as a result of the climate crisis. Why not imagine the world we want to live in? Libraries play an important role in empowering individuals and communities and inspiring change, as "we are all agents in the future we choose to build."   

I attended the parallel session on greener procurement and collections, which included speakers from Better World Books, NHS England, and the Bodleian Library. The key takeaway was to ask our suppliers and publishers about their practices – what are they doing to improve the sustainability of their operations? Do they have a carbon reduction plan? As customers, libraries need to be asking the right questions to ensure greater transparency and keep sustainability on the agenda.  

Piers Torday, who is an author and chair of the Society of Authors Sustainability Network closed the conference with a keynote on the environmental impact of a book. The paper industry is one of the biggest contributors to deforestation and contributes to around 2 per cent of global CO2 emissions.  Authors, publishers, manufacturers and libraries all play a role in ensuring that a book’s lifecycle is more sustainable.  

To conclude, it was fantastic to attend the Green Libraries Conference. It was great to hear from representatives across different LIS sectors about the work being undertaken to make libraries greener spaces. Thank you to NHS England for giving me the opportunity to attend.