Green Libraries: Customizing Solutions for Your Community
Imagine a situation where a tailor didn’t take your body measurements before sewing a dress for you. Well, it might turn out okay, but certainly not perfect. Evaluating a situation before taking complete action is one of the best ways to ensure a good outcome.
Welcome to this blog! Today, we’ll explore the crucial role of community needs assessment in developing green libraries. Community Needs Assessment neutrally means researching a particular community to understand their way of life and identify their needs. In the scope of green libraries, community Needs Assessment involves understanding the specific environmental and sustainable needs of a community, which is carried out to make informed decisions about the design and services the library will provide. It serves as a solid foundation on which the development and implementation of solutions that effectively address community needs and improve the environmental well-being of the community are built. Every community has unique needs, so investing adequate time and resources into understanding how a community operates and what they need is important. Environmental needs of communities include waste management, climate change, access to nature and green space, environmental education and literacy, energy conservation, and many more.
10 Signs Your Library is Eco-friendly
The 21st century is characterized by several developments, including technology, that have made life easier for all. However, these things come with some negative impacts on the planet earth which is the natural habitat for man and his innovations.
For this reason, institutions of all kinds and across various levels are beginning to reevaluate their practices, to embrace sustainability. Libraries, as institutions, are greatly perceived to be pillars and custodians of knowledge, and they are taking a lead role in adopting eco-friendly and sustainable practices.
Here are 7 signs that succinctly tell us that the operations of your library are not harming the natural environment:
Generation of little or no waste: An eco-friendly library manages waste by reusing, recycling, repairing materials and/or disposing waste in a very effective manner.
Provision of educational resources on sustainability: Libraries acquire, store and make available information resources on diverse subjects and in various formats. However, an eco-friendly library consciously adds information materials on sustainability and environmental stewardship to their collection in order toawareness and keep their users informed.
Conservation of energy: An eco-friendly library makes provision for full access to fresh air and makes use of insulating curtains.
Establishment of a water circulation system: An eco-friendly library ensures that the source of water within the library is such that would not hurt the community in the short or long run. Having a good water circulation system involves using water sources like reclaimed/recycled water, rain water etc. Reducing water leakage and wastage are also other ways of ensuring sustainable practices.
Establishment of green spaces:An eco-friendly library is green both indoors and outdoors. Plants are used as part of the library's interior design and the exterior part of the library has plants and trees planted and is made to have the feel of a community park.
Use of environmentally friendly equipment: A library that practisnes sustainability would acquire office supplies that do not cause environmental pollution nor have adverse effects on the immediate environment.
Library resources: The resources in an eco-friendly library are mostly in digital format. Books in print format contribute greatly to deforestation, which in turn leads to climate change. The process involved in printing a book requires a lot of energy and this is not so good on the environment.
The sustainability of the environment relies on each and every one of us. Always protect the environment!
Methods of Community Needs Assessment:
Survey: This involves crafting a list of questions on environmental issues, sustainability practices, and green library initiatives. The answers obtained from the questionnaire will provide valuable insights on the community.
Interview: structured conversations with community members to understand their needs and perspectives.
Focus Group Discussion: Selecting a group of individuals in the community for a structured dialogue and interactive session in order to understand community priorities.
Observation: Systematically watching and taking notes in an active or passive manner, the behaviours of community members and the environmental conditions of the community.
Analysis of Existing Data: Analyzing already existing data like government reports, environmental assessments, utility bills, library usage statistics, community surveys, and other sources of quantitative and qualitative data to understand environmental trends, community demographics, and existing sustainability practices.
Through community needs assessment, green libraries can provide customized services to their users, thereby avoiding wastage of resources and focusing on initiatives and services that would impact the community the most.
Contributed by
OreOluwa Adekunle.
Afrelib Volounteer