Resources for Sustainable California Libraries Projects
The Sustainable California Libraries grant program funds climate and sustainability related community-driven programming for adults and intergenerational groups. The initiative also fosters connections between California library workers supporting climate resilience in communities. The purpose of these grants is to fund services, programming, and educational opportunities focused on sustainability and climate resilience.
![Photo of Dr. John Fleming and illustration of earth. Flier reads: Fossil Fuels and the Climate Crisis with Dr. John Fleming. Every degree matters, and time is running out. Learn what steps to take to help combat this global crisis by phasing out fossil fuels. Tuesday, March 19th, 7:00 pm. Library Community Room, 1114 El Centro St. Logos for: Sowing South Pasadena, City of South Pasadena Public Library, California State Library, and Institute of Museum and Library Services](https://www.library.ca.gov/uploads/2024/04/So-Pasadena-Fossil-Fuels-Talk.jpg)
Background Reading & General Information
- Sustainable Libraries: Resources and Webinars for Climate Action (2023 series)
- Resilient Communities: How Library Programming Can Fight the Climate Crisis (April 2023, Library Research Service)
- Sustainability channel on CALL Academy (for California library staff)
- 25 Ready-to-Use Sustainable Living Programs for Libraries by Elyssa Kroski
- What Makes People Act on Climate Change, According to Behavioral Science (April 2023, Scientific American)
- ALA Sustainability Roundtable Resources (includes Book lists, Swag Sustainability Rubrics, and more)
- Blue Marble Librarians
- Blueberry Award Books 2023: Blueberry Awards honor excellence in environmental literature for children.
- California Climate Dashboard (CalEPA)
- Climate Justice (November 2023, WebJunction)
- Climate Mental Health Network Resources (See Climate Mental Health Book List)
- Environmental Kinship Guide: A holistic approach to teaching and learning about, in, with and for the whole of the natural world, utilized by the Anythink Nature Library and others.
- PolicyMap for California Libraries: The California State Library, in collaboration with Pacific Library Partnership, is now offering free access to PolicyMap as a resource for data and mapping for public library staff. See especially Social Determinants of Health and Quality of Life tabs.
- Resilient Communities: Libraries Respond to Climate Change an initiative of the American Library Association, helps libraries engage their communities in programs and conversations that address the climate crisis (2020-2021)
- School Library Journal: A Climate Change Reading List to Inspire Action, Not Dread (March 2024)
- Sustainable Libraries Initiative: Recommended Reading
- #NotTooLate: a project to invite newcomers to the climate movement, as well as provide climate facts and encouragement for people who are already engaged but weary.
![Photo of a girl smiling next to a raised garden bed.](/uploads/2023/11/girlsmilesatvegetablegarden@500.jpg)
Climate & Environmental Justice
Programs, project partners, community connections, and resources should engage and support communities most impacted by climate change. Learn more about environmental justice:
- CalEnviroScreen: A place-based cumulative impact screening methodology that provides one clear, accessible, and science-based way to identify and define communities that are disproportionately burdened by multiple sources of pollution and social vulnerabilities.
- California Bureau of Environmental Justice
- California Environmental Justice Alliance
- The Greenlining Institute
- Ten Strands Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program: Ten Strands is partnering with the San Mateo County Office of Education and the California Department of Education to create TK–12 open education resources focused on climate change and environmental justice.
- U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index: Pulling in 184 sets of data to rank more than 70,000 U.S. Census tracts, the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index helps you see which communities face the greatest challenges from the impacts of a changing climate. This tool shows what is driving the challenges, so policymakers and communities themselves can take action to build climate resilience where it is needed most.
- University of California Center for Climate Justice
Sustainable California Libraries Program Ideas
Programs and partners should be community specific and address local needs and opportunities.
Citizen Science, Civic Engagement, Speaker and Film Series
![Photo of purple flower with bee. Flier reads: This Week! Pollinator Storytime, Otay Ranch Library, The Hub, 03/19 @ 10 am, South Chula Vista Library, 3/20 @ 11:15 am. Logos for: Ready Set Grow Chula Vista, California State Library, City of Chula Vista Library, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Resource Conservation District Greater San Diego.](https://www.library.ca.gov/uploads/2024/04/Chula-Vista-PL-Pollinator-Storytime-FY23-24-Program-631x1024.jpg)
- LAPL Neighborhood Science Programs
- Citizen Science (Coronado Public Library)
- Citizen Science Month (April) resources from SciStarter
- Using Neighborhood Science to Engage Your Community (2022 webinar)
- Environmental StoryWalks or story strolls, interactive games or audio tours, like Beyond our Walls
- Tree planting, Arbor Week (March 7 – 14) celebrations and Neighborhood Forest programs
- Naturalist in Residence (Madison Public Library)
- Environmentalist in Residence (Toronto Public Library)
- Indigenous Storyteller in Residence (Vancouver Public Library)
- #BookToAction sustainability book and speaker series, film, or art series
- California Climate Action Week (3rd week of September)
- Climate Action Day volunteer projects with California Climate Action Corps
- Climate Conversations Card Game: Thanks to work from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, we know that 72% of Americans know global warming is happening and 65% are worried about it, yet only 35% of Americans discuss climate change even occasionally. (free download)
- Climate Fresk workshops
- Climate Stories Project: an educational and artistic forum for sharing personal stories about the changing climate. Sharing your climate story helps build an inclusive and effective movement to confront the climate crisis.
- Earth Day (April 22) / Earth Month program, such as: Earth Day at OC Public Libraries
- Waterway, beach and neighborhood cleanups with nature conservancies, wetlands, local and state parks, and other partners
- Climate Action To-Go Kits (Greater Victoria Public Library)
- Celebrate Earth Reading Challenge (LAPL)
- Empowered: the Series community screening information
- Reciprocity Project: short film series & multimedia platform, based on Indigenous ways of being
- Saging the World Documentary: In partnership with Rose Ramirez and Deborah Small, the California Native Plant Society is working with a community of Indigenous advocates and allies to stop rampant poaching, foster understanding and inspire action for white sage
Compost, Gardens, Seed Libraries, and Food Systems
- Live database of Seed Libraries at California public libraries: 100+ California library locations have seed libraries! Seed library at your location that’s not included? Contact LibraryStatistics@library.ca.gov to update.
- Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library
- Seed Library Roundtable resources from the 2023 Sustainability Symposium
- Seed Librarians Community & Cool Beans! Newsletter
- Oakland Public Library: Culturally Relevant Gardening project
- Growing Library Garden Programs (webinar, June 2023)
- #PlantWildflowers campaign / My Garden of a Thousand Bees
- Pollinator gardens (Winters Community Library Teaching Garden)
- Partner with community gardens, school gardens, food banks, food justice organizations, etc.
- Compost workshops, organic waste and edible food recovery – See also California Climate Action Corps fellows and partners
- Water-related programming with CalMatters for Learning’s Water in California resources: a nonpartisan civic package with suggested activities to spark conversations about water in California.
Fix It Clinics, Mending Workshops, Swaps, and Libraries of Things
- Fixit Clinics
- Repair Café official website
- Clothing Swap (San Francisco Public Library)
- Culture of Repair
- Loan Induction cooktops (Alameda County partnership example) or energy efficiency kits in collaboration with local energy cooperatives
- Sacramento Public Library Library of Things
- Oakland Public Library Tool Lending Library
- Berkeley Public Library Tool Lending Library
- Santa Clara City Library Tool Lending Library
- LA County Library Tool Lending Library
- Curtis Memorial Library of Things
- The Playground at FVRL: Offers customers of all ages free access to fun and engaging STEAM related learning experiences. The Playground features lending collections and in-library experiences.
- California State Library Parks Pass Toolkit and backpack lending
Transportation, Resilience Hubs, and Certification
- Bike repair or rider workshops; walking tours, or public transit promotion
- Partner with California Bicycle Coalition or a local partner like Walk Oakland Bike Oakland or Active SGV
- California Strategic Growth Council’s Community Resilience Centers Program
- Sustainability Certification: in collaboration with public programming that helps community members makes similar changes to their homes, businesses, and communities
![Large group of kids and adults attend storytime.](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/storytime-lamesa@800.jpg)
2023–2024 Sustainable California Libraries Projects
- Alhambra Civic Center Library: The Let’s Grow Alhambra: Be a Master of Your Garden and Steward of the Earth program will educate the public on environmental sustainability, urban gardening, conservation techniques, and how to embrace habits for a healthier and more resilient future.
- Azusa City Library: Revisiting Azusa’s Past will provide a glimpse into Azusa’s Indigenous history through family programming developed and implemented with Gabrieleno community members. A seed library and gardening workshops will highlight sustainability practices while sharing information on how to support local ecosystems and habitats.
- Benicia Public Library: The S.O.S.: Sustaining our Sustainability program will expand the library’s existing seed library, pollinator garden, and thing library to build a more sustainable community. The expanded seed library and pollinator garden will promote sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and community resilience. The thing library will help residents save money and reduce waste by making DIY projects and home maintenance more accessible.
- Blanchard/Santa Paula Public Library District: The Tierra Sana, Humana Sana / Healthy Soil, Healthy Human project will create community resources that improve household nutrition through home and community gardens and promote sustainable practices for a healthier planet. These shared resources will include a seed library, a plastic pollution and solutions exhibit, and bilingual (English/Spanish) sustainable garden workshops for the community.
- Burlingame Public Library: The Sustainable Living with BPL project will work in collaboration with local nonprofit groups and city agencies to provide programming and resources to help community members become more resilient and informed in the areas of gardening/water use, reuse/reduce/recycle, and electrification.
- Cerritos Public Library: Planted: Cerritos Seed Library will provide library patrons and the local community with a new seed library and a series of educational activities related to preserving natural resources, gardening, and sustainability.
- Chula Vista Public Library: Ready, Set, Grow Chula Vista! will plant the seeds of sustainability through a series of gardening education workshops, nature conservation programming, and the implementation of seed libraries at all Chula Vista Library branches.
- Mono County Free Library: The Mono County Sustainability Programming and Library-of-Things project, in partnership with High Sierra Energy Foundation, will deliver sustainability programming including sustainability fairs, facility tours, and hands-on workshops, and expand the library-of-things offerings. The project will increase access to environmental education in a hard-to-reach region and inspire positive actions.
- National City Public Library: The NCPL Tool Library (u-Tool-ize) project will provide community members free access to a diverse range of tools and equipment, such as hand, electric and battery powered tools, and gardening, automotive, bike, and crafting equipment. The project will foster environmental stewardship, sustainable practices, and personal empowerment by offering non-gasoline powered tools, encouraging community sharing, and eliminating the financial barrier of renting or purchasing tools to complete projects.
- San Bernardino City Library Foundation: The Growing Together project aims to expand the successful e3p3 “American Girls talk about Environmental Sustainability” events, creating intergenerational knowledge-sharing opportunities and a cooperative learning environment. The project is dedicated to fostering environmental sustainability and climate resilience, equity in accessing needed resources, and fostering education and learning by establishing a communal teaching garden and creating a sustainability tool lending library, supported by public and private partners. Additionally, it seeks to make a notable impact in the San Bernardino community among targeted underserved seniors and youth.
- Santa Barbara Public Library: The Sustainably Santa Barbara project will host a series of workshops and educational events to support community members of all ages in engaging in sustainable practices that support healthy lifestyles, reduce waste, and foster community connections with a focus on gardening, preserving food, and repair and mending. SBPL will also develop a tool library collection to support gardening and repair activities.
- Santa Fe Springs City Library: SFS Grows: Climate Warriors is a sustainability-based program dedicated to serving developmentally disabled adults in and around the Santa Fe Springs community. The continuing program will introduce four new topics: Low Waste, Energy and Water Efficiency, Recycling, and Climate Action. The program emphasizes learning, exploring, and empowerment through hands-on activities that offer participants a safe, welcoming environment to engage with their community in meaningful and impactful ways.
- Shasta Library Foundation: The Shasta Gather & Grow project will support the community in growing their own regionally appropriate food crops through the creation of the Shasta Seed Library and a diverse offering of instructional gardening programs, seed saving workshops, and related events hosted by the Shasta Public Libraries and multiple community partners.
- Solano County Library: The Sustaining Solano project will offer open-air events at partner locations and invite partners to offer events in-library. The library will transport adults, children, and families to partnering open spaces and farms where they will meet experts and talk about how parks, gardening, and open spaces provide both palpable and intangible benefit to the people of Solano County.
- South Pasadena Public Library: The Sowing South Pasadena project will cultivate sustainability through a dynamic blend of a new seed library, a series of sustainability lectures, and a repair cafe, fostering a resilient and interconnected community.
![A photograph of Orange Public Library’s Seed Library, re-purposed from a wooden card catalog with multiple drawers, features bilingual signage.](/uploads/2023/11/SCL-Orange-Public-Library-Seed-Lending-Library-2023@500.jpg)
2022–2023 Sustainable California Libraries Projects
- Alameda County Library: The Gardening Tool Lending Library project will focus on non-gas-powered electric items. They will offer instruction on using the tools, as well as check-out.
- Belvedere Tiburon Library: The Planting SEEDs (Supporting Environmental Education and Direction) project will allow the library to join the Sustainable Libraries Initiative network and begin work towards completing the Sustainable Libraries Certification Program. They will create a green book club, local climate focused service groups, and a sustainability fair.
- California State University East Bay: A Sustainable Muwekma Ohlone Walkway will be created in partnership with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. The library will create a walkway of sustainable flowers and plants which will be presented and discussed during earth week with programming focused on Native American heritage.
- Camarillo Public Library: Cam I Am Sustainable is a program of community conversations and events as part of a Sustainable Neighborhood Series. The library will host discussions and workshops featuring different sustainable topics each month.
- County of San Luis Obispo Public Libraries: The Shandon Tool Lending Library will offer patrons local access to lithium-ion battery powered power and gardening tools to support creativity, home projects and job development while reducing gas emissions caused by 40-mile round trip visits to the nearest hardware store. Community members will utilize the TLL to create a Library Reading Garden during Earth Month.
- Glendale Library, Arts & Culture: The Earth Month & Beyond program will offer programs in Armenian, Spanish, and English. These programs will include a Fix-It clinic, a clothing repair workshop, carbon conversations, an Earth Day fair, and a guided nature hike.
- Kim Yerton Memorial Library (Humboldt): The Creating a Community Focal Point in the Hoopa Valley program will serve the underserved community on the Hoopa Valley Reservation by offering a Library of Things, classes, and book groups.
- Los Gatos Library: The Sustainable Los Gatos Speaker Series will feature an integrated speaker and education series, in addition to workshops. The workshops will be geared toward children and allow them to learn about and participate in environmental activities.
- Mono County Free Library: The Mono County Earth Month Event Series will focus on planning, facilitating, and implementing Mono County Earth Month. This will include a speaker series and hands-on activities which will rotate through the various branches.
- Murrieta Public Library: The Planting the Future Program will create a pollinator demonstration garden with native California plants, which will educate library patrons on sustainability. They will include accompanying earth day events and workshops.
- Orange Public Library: The Sustainable Orange: Preserving our Future project will create a community teaching garden, an expanded seed library, and an apiary. Six sustainability workshops will accompany these additions.
- San Diego Public Library: The Our Climate, Our Future: Our Sustainable San Diego project will consist of a series of sustainability programs for all ages. They will include workshops, story walks, community projects, camps, and exhibitions.
- San Diego County Library: The Seeds & Sustainability project will create a multi-pronged approach which will bring seed library installations and all ages programming across San Diego County.
- San Mateo Library: The San Mateo: Sustainability for All project will design a series of programs and workshops connecting the public with information and resources that will promote sustainability.
- Santa Fe Springs Library: The SFS Grows/Gardening and Sustainability for Developmentally Disabled Adults program will teach developmentally disabled adults the basics of sustainable gardening. The staff assisting with the project have experience in education, psychology, and working with people with developmental disabilities.
- Sunnyvale Public Library: The Home Green Home: Bringing Sustainable Living to Sunnyvale Homes project will focus on events and tools to assist community members in taking sustainable action in their homes. Some programming will be offered in multiple languages.
- Sutter County Library: Indigiscape: An Exploration into Outdoor Discovery and Sustainability will expand library programming to the outdoors and promote the environmental benefits of drought-resistant landscaping to inform and educate the community.
- Tulare County Library: The Green Communities for Tulare County program will provide education to community members on strengthening local food systems, water conservation, community gardening, and healthy eating habits. View the Green Communities for Tulare County program recordings.
- Ventura County Library: Ventura County Library: The Explore, Discover, Connect — Sustainable Living Practices program will focus on three things: a sustainability presentation series, achieving Green Business Certification for EL Rio, Piru, and Saticoy Libraries and expanding the Library of Things to include toolkits on energy efficiency and induction cooktops to support sustainability.
Project Partner and Community Connection Ideas
Possible project partner and connection ideas are included below. Additional ideas are encouraged.
- 5 Gyres: Empowering action against the global health crisis of plastic pollution through science, education, and advocacy
- American Library Association Task Force on United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals: Includes webinars and resources. See LAPL’s SDG chart.
- Bay Area Resilient Libraries Network Initiative
- Browngirl Green: Speaker who turns “climate doom into humor, healing chats, and educational tools for action.”
- California Air Districts
- California Climate Action Corps focus areas include:
- Urban forestry / urban greening / trees
- Organic waste / food recovery
- Wildfire / extreme weather / climate resiliency
- California College Corps (climate action is one of three focus areas)
- California Environmental Literacy Initiative Partner Portal
- California Green Business Network: See Networking Session #2 recording below
- California Native Plant Society: dedicated to celebrating California’s native plant heritage and preserving it for future generations (chapters throughout CA).
- California Tribal communities
- Center for Ecoliteracy: This organization build partnerships and the capacity of K–12 schools to support healthy, sustainable school communities and food systems change in schools. See California Food for California Kids.
- Farm to School documentary short: Bilingual short film showcases the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and the power of youth leadership in the farm to school movement (March 2023).
- City or County Offices of Sustainability / climate action plan participants
- City or County Departments or agencies: water, waste, and recycling
- Collective Resilience: Provides support for resilience hubs, spaces and blocks, some of the most promising and equitable approaches to scaling up local resilience. Based in the Bay Area.
- CompostGal: consulting, landscaping & education (Martinez, CA)
- CORE Climate Resilience: CORE works together with communities, local governments, and residents of vulnerable neighborhoods to build resilience to the increasing effects of climate change in California.
- CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather): Climate Resilience Hub and community volunteers; promotes Climate Preparedness Week, the 4th week of September
- Environmental Experts of Color Database
- Environmental justice organizations like East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
- Friends of the Urban Forest
- Good Docs Climate Justice documentaries and speakers
- See Inhabitants documentary featuring the Karuk tribe’s prescribed fire practices
- Land trusts, conservation agencies, State, National and local Parks
- Latino Conservation Week: an initiative of Hispanic Access Foundation — Annually in July
- Project Drawdown Solutions Library
- Queen of Compost (Ventura, CA)
- Regional Energy Networks: See California’s Expanding Energy Networks (November 2022) for programs and coverage areas.
- 3C-REN: Coordinates induction cooktop and energy efficiency kits with public libraries
- BayREN: Coordinates BayREN’s Resilient Libraries Network
- Inland Regional Energy Network
- SoCalREN
- reDiscover Center: Maker resources focused on reuse and sustainability (Los Angeles, CA)
- Rewiring America
- Schools K–12, PTAs, Green Teams, community colleges and universities
- Story of Stuff Project: Story of Stuff documentary and Story of Plastic documentary, now with educational resources from Algalita (Long Beach, CA)
- TreePeople (Southern CA) or Canopy
- UC Master Gardeners, community gardens, etc.
- Women in Climate Speaker Database
- Zero-Waste Chef (Bay Area)
2024 Sustainability Summit
The Summit featured best practices from the current #SustainableCALibraries projects and beyond, and focused on shared solutions and inspiration for climate action.
- View the 2024 Sustainability Summit Program and presenters.
2023 Sustainability Symposium
The Symposium featured stories, solutions, partnerships, and promising practices from California libraries, including (but not limited to) the inaugural year of the Sustainable California Libraries 2022-2023 LSTA grant projects. From earthen seed libraries to Earth Day workshops, there’s something for everyone!
- View the 2023 Sustainability Symposium recording and resources on CALL Academy.
- View the 2023 Sustainability Symposium Agenda.
- Listen to Alameda County’s Moonlight Gardening playlist.
Climate and Sustainability Action Guide for California Libraries
The Climate and Sustainability Action Guide for California Libraries highlights various levels of community engagement, facility improvement, and operational transformation options for California’s public libraries and communities. The guide was produced by the Alliance for Library Impact, in collaboration with Pacific Library Partnership, in May 2024. Generous thanks to the California library staff that contributed to the survey, participated in the listening session, and were interviewed for the site visits.
- View and download the Climate and Sustainability Action Guide for California Libraries (17 pages)
- Short on time? View and download the Climate and Sustainability Quick Reference Action Guide for California Libraries (1 page)
Sustainable California Libraries 2022 Planning Sessions
Session #1: Focus on Sustainable Programs and Partnerships (May 10, 2022)
Guest speakers included:
- Destiny Rivera shared how seed libraries cultivate community partnerships and promote food justice in communities
- Ben Gomberg shared the Alameda County Library team’s experience with educational partnerships focused on sustainability
Session #2: Focus on Sustainable Operations and Services (June 29, 2022)
This session focused on library operations, services, buildings, and library sustainability certification. Guest speakers:
- Lawrence Nussbaum, California Green Business Network, shared how California libraries can work toward being certified as Green Businesses, including lessons learned from the San Mateo County Libraries process, plus more about libraries as Resilience Hubs
- Sarah Solis, Facilities Manager at San Diego County, shared San Diego Sustainable Libraries Initiative Certification kick-off, Zero Net Energy libraries, and shifting towards a zero-carbon future
Sustainable California Libraries Report: July 2022
The Sustainable California Libraries Report provides an overview of sustainability in California libraries, including survey results and examples of programs and partnerships. The report also provides additional resources and outlines action items. Read the 16-page Sustainable California Libraries Report.
Questions, Suggestions, and Join the Listserv Conversation
The Sustainable California Libraries listserv is now open to any California library staff and community partners interested in joining the conversation about sustainability, climate, and California libraries. Program ideas, grant updates, and general conversation are welcome.
- The #SustainableCALibraries listserv main page allows you to subscribe, unsubscribe, and manage your listserv preferences
- Once you’ve been approved to join the list, posts can be made by emailing: sustainablecalibraries@lists.californialibrarylists.org
Email sustainability@library.ca.gov with questions or suggestions.
#SustainableCALibraries