Hauke, P. (2018), “From information literacy to green literacy: training librarians as trainers for sustainability literacy”, Paper Presented at the IFLA World Library and Information Conference (WLIC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 24-30 August, available at: http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/ 2147/1/116-hauke-en.pdf
This is a very useful and informative paper discussing the role of libraries in society regarding sustainability literacy (SL).
It puts teaching sustainability literacy in two categories:
- Teaching more theoretical issues through sustainability literacy courses, mainly at academic libraries
- Teaching through a more practical approach, mainly at public libraries, offering Repair Cafés, Food sharing initiatives, Urban Gardening programmes etc.
This article came 4 years after the first one I read on the subject. It still says that there is more emphasis put on Green Libraries (GL) as the green buildings. However, by widening focus of the definition of GL to include activities, events and projects that are run in support of environmental sustainability, libraries can act “as educators in sustainability literacy.” (p.3)
Then the article explores the role of the libraries in teaching SL in more depth. For me the most important was learning that the SL “means having knowledge and skills to advocate for resilient social, economic and environmental system.” (p.4) It changes my perspective on what I was planning to do in my sessions. I realised that for me in order to implement SL I need to educate myself more. I have started with exploring our UAL Libraries guide on sustainability and (as mentioned in the previous blog post) to take part in Eco-literacy Toolkit training as soon as possible.
However, the article also mentions all the little ways we can contribute to sustainability goals. By using specific topics or key words in sessions, promoting the databases and guides on the subject. That is what I have already started doing and will continue to include more materials around environmental issues into my teaching.
The article referenced the next interesting text for me in the context of this project: From Green Libraries to Green Information Literacy.