Library Collections for Sustainability

Amy Brunvand, Joshua Lenart, Emily Bullough, Jessica Breiman, Alison ReganMarriott Library Sustainability Working Group (MLSWG)

Utah Library Association ConferenceMay 2, 2013

Cartoon from XKDC.com

Marriott Library Sustainability Working Group (MLSWG):

• University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library: Sustainability collection development policy report (2012)

• Core reading list• Core journal list• Library research guides• Book chapter forthcoming- Fall

2013 in Focus on Education for Sustainability: A Toolkit for Academic Libraries (Library Juice Press)

Sustainability Encompasses “Wicked Problems”:

Large, highly complex problems like climate change, food systems, or fossil fuel dependency, concerning multifaceted social planning and policy issues

Komiyama, H., & Takeuchi, K.

(2006). Sustainability

science: Building a new discipline.Sustainability

Science, 1, 1-6.

Sustainability is:

• An emerging field• An interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary

area of study• Without a clearly defined canon

Big Ideas:• Citizen engagement• Concern for the environment• Food supply• Systems thinking• Futures thinking• Green economy• Human dependence on natural systems • Limits of the Earth’s ecosystems• Relocalization• Sustainability literacy

The temporal evolution of sustainability science and its population dynamics.

Bettencourt L M A , and Kaur J PNAS 2011;108:19540-19545

©2011 by National Academy of Sciences

The footprint of sustainability science in terms of traditional scientific disciplines.

Bettencourt L M A , and Kaur J PNAS 2011;108:19540-19545

©2011 by National Academy of Sciences

Sustainability and Environmental Studies on campuses follow campus priorities:

• USU: agriculture, forestry, and fisheries• U of U: city planning, sustainable

tourism, environmental humanities, and environmental law

• UNLV: urban sustainability, sustainable tourism

Geographic distribution of sustainability science publications.

Bettencourt L M A , and Kaur J PNAS 2011;108:19540-19545

©2011 by National Academy of Sciences

Local context:

• Government publications (federal, state, and local)

• Activist and non-profit organization literature

• Local periodicals, such as Catalyst, High Country News, and Edible Wasatch

STARS Rating System from AASHE

• Education & Research (curriculum, research, co-curricular events)

• Operations (buildings, dining, climate, energy, grounds, purchasing, transportation, waste, water)

• Planning, Administration & Engagement (planning & coordination, diversity & affordability, human resources, investment, public engagement)

http://www.aashe.org/files/documents/STARS/stars_flyer_final.pdf

Librarian roles:

• Collection development• Departmental liaisons• Subject specialists• Reference consultants• Sustainability and environmental studies

instructors• University committee members• Green team members

Library collection development is a complex endeavor requiring:

• Interdisciplinary cooperation• Tailoring collections to local issues• Tact and diplomacy to avoid the

pitfalls of academic turf wars

Why we need to collect new stuff:

• Sustainability is a new subject• No clearly identified canon• “Big ideas” are not within a single

subject area• Many new journals since 1990• Important materials are not always

typical academic publications• Support both curriculum and green

campus

Case Study I: Ecopsychology

• Many graduate programs in social work, including those at Lewis & Clark College, Naropa University, and John F. Kennedy University offer graduate certificates in ecopsychology or ecotherapy…

but what IS ecopsychology?

• “Ecopsychology recognizes a connection between mental health and the natural environment and explores ways in which psychological knowledge and practices can contribute to the solution of environmental problems.”

….• “The application of mental health and substance abuse treatment in outdoor

settings” ….• “Resources and techniques for mental health providers to utilize nature-

based activities and metaphors in their therapeutic work”

• Ecopsychology is not yet well-defined. Hibbard (2003) notes, “ecopsychologists are in search of an identity for their field. If this trend continues, ecopsychology could become impossibly diluted and confused in a sea of loose, even competing, interpretations” (28).

• So…Is the goal of ecopsychology to heal the earth or to heal its peoples? Can these goals ever be successfully wed? Further, what is the future of ecotherapy and ecopsychology as tools or approaches that can be used by mental health clinicians? And for which mental health diagnoses would nature-based therapy or eco-interventions be recommended?

• The future of ecopsychology…the literature in the field is dominated by theoretical positions; much remains to be accomplished in terms of scientific studies on therapeutic interactions between humans and the environment.

Hibbard, W. (2003). Ecopsychology: A review. The Trumpeter, 19(2), 23-52. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Recommendations:

• Appoint a librarian with a personal interest to serve as the sustainability subject specialist

• Use a team approach• Scan the university and community

environment• Match your collection to local conditions• Monitor approaches used at other

universities

Questions?

University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library: Sustainability Collection

Development Policy Report http://tinyurl.com/clwudvk