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
South Pasadena Fossil Fuels and the Climate Crisis with Dr. John Fleming FY23-24 Project

Background Reading & General Information

Photo of a girl smiling next to a raised garden bed.
Shandon Library garden, County of San Luis Obispo, 2023.

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:

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.
Chula Vista Pollinator Storytime FY23-24 Project

Compost, Gardens, Seed Libraries, and Food Systems

Fix It Clinics, Mending Workshops, Swaps, and Libraries of Things

Transportation, Resilience Hubs, and Certification

Large group of kids and adults attend storytime.
Seeds & Sustainability storytime, La Mesa branch, San Diego County Library

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.
Bilingual Seed Lending Library signage at Orange Public Library, 2023.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Email sustainability@library.ca.gov with questions or suggestions.

#SustainableCALibraries