#7 Working together will definitely make a difference to the planet.

Lucy Gilham, Knowledge Specialist, Hampshire Hospitals Library Service, Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital

I felt very lucky to be attending the 2nd Green Libraries Conference and after attending the inaugural one back in 2023 I knew that it was going to be a very interesting day. 

The morning keynote Baroness Natalie Bennet, Green Party Peer on Green ideas: libraries as centres of social innovation left me very inspired, reinforcing the fact that libraries are ideally placed in organisations to facilitate awareness and support green goals. 

There was a lot to learn from other sectors and speakers, some of them not necessarily related.  The author Piers Torday spoke about the green themes of the children’s books he has written and his steps to produce green books in terms of book covers, paper and fonts used. This was more costly than traditional book printing processes but definitely a step in the right direction. 

As the day went on, I noted that apart from Nicky Philpott from Greener NHS and fellow NHS delegates there were no NHS Library and Knowledge Services telling others about the healthcare library sector green initiatives. We do our bit supporting our colleagues with the evidence base but we are yet to shout about our green actions as libraries.  There has been Green Libraries Week x2 and currently a whole host of projects are being carried out by the recipients of the NHS Green Libraries Grants.  This was also evident by the fact no UK green library case studies have been submitted to IFLA. Next year will be our turn to shine as we share at the next Green Libraries conference.  

There are so many different strands to sustainability that it can feel quite overwhelming, small steps and working together will definitely make a difference to the planet.