Environmental Wellness

Perhaps the most outward-looking of all 8 wellness elements, it involves a person’s awareness of nature and the general environment, as well as their more immediate surroundings.  People with good environmental wellness take actions to both protect the environment (by using sustainable practices, recycling, etc.) and to protect themselves from environmental hazards. 

Environmental Wellness Resources

Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility [Particularly applicable during the COVID-19 pandemic]
From the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) – Guidelines for everyday steps for cleaning and disinfecting facilities. Provides considerations for employers, including suggestions to develop policies for workers’ protection and to provide training to all staff.

Strategies for a More Sustainable Library

Recommended Reading

	Sustainable thinking: ensuring your library’s future in an uncertain world by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich (2018) This book suggests pragmatic methods towards safeguarding your library’s future through sustainable thinking.
	Collaborative Library Design: From Planning to Impact by Peter Gisolfi (2018) Gisolfi presents 10 case studies of the design process of public, academic, and school libraries to provide practical guidance applicable for libraries of all sizes.
	The life-changing magic of tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing by Marie Kondo (2016) This best seller provides strategies for decluttering your environment and your life.
	The Green Library – Die grüne Bibliothek by Petra Hauke, Karen Latimer & KlausUlrich Werner (eds.) (2013) Published by the International Federation of Library Associations, this book takes a look at global efforts to create more sustainable and green libraries using case studies from around the world.

External Environmental Wellness Resources

The Environment, Sustainability and Libraries Special Interest Group
This special interest group is a part of the International Federation of Library Associations tasked with the goal of examining how environmental concerns affect libraries around the world. The organization also awards an annual Green Library award for sustainability.

NYLA Sustainable Library Certification Program
While the certification portion of this program is only available to libraries in New York state, this website includes resources to help all libraries head towards sustainability.

IFLA Green Library Checklist
This checklist, available in 22 different languages, helps with planning any construction projects in a sustainable manner from planning through completion. Areas of the checklist include user services, strategic goals, marketing, and IT sustainability items.

ALA’s Sustainability and Libraries Libguide
Includes links to the 1999-2000 ALA President’s project regarding “Libraries Build Sustainable Communities” and additional resources discussing sustainability in libraries.

Sustainability Round Table
This ALA round table is building a sustainability database of resources as well as announcing events and conversations about environmental issues through its blog.

Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform
This collection of pages looks at 17 sustainable development goals developed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs division of the United Nations. While not library-specific, this list of goals can spark ideas for how to become a more sustainable library.

Less Plastic
This environmental website out of the UK has suggestions on how to reduce the amount of plastic waste put in landfills. The site utilizes infographics to help illustrate how to live with less plastic in our lives.