Center Moriches joins sustainable library program

The Center Moriches Free Public Library recently joined the sustainable library initiative supporting their environmental efforts as well as saving taxpayer dollars. Library director Marcie Litjens said the library was happy to hop on the initiative and eager to get a committee started.

“It’s not just looking at energy efficiency,” said Litjens, “it’s also a commitment to the library getting the best value for what we do.”

The Center Moriches sustainability committee comprises staff members from various departments, including: Dominique Nason, Children’s Department; Jessica Ceramello, head of Teen Services; Christie Matheson, librarian I, Reference Department; Mary McNulty, librarian II, Reference Department; Robert Chesnut, assistant director; and Litjens, library director.

“Within the last several years, the Board of Trustees has embarked on several projects that have increased the efficiency of our library, such as replacing windows original to the building, retrofitting to LED lighting, and most recently converting to natural gas from oil,” Litjens said.

Last October, after a presentation about the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, the board agreed that it would be a long-term commitment that both their community and staff will benefit from. 

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative is a nationwide organization with over 75 public libraries currently enrolled in the Sustainable Libraries Certification Program. With categories of actions focusing on each of the three pillars of triple bottom line (Environmentally Sound, Socially Equitable, and Economically Feasible) sustainability such as Energy, Indoor Spaces, Social Cohesion, and Resilience Planning, this comprehensive process leads a library toward institutional change that shifts the rationale for every decision to consider the local and global impacts.

Through the program, libraries work with their communities to listen and learn, allowing local needs to be identified and addressed. Strengthening the relationship between the library and the community they serve builds resilience through stronger connections with many organizations and increased access to information. The path to certification through the Sustainable Libraries Certification Program is flexible for libraries of different types, sizes, and budgets and guided by the communities they serve. Each library that completes the program will select the benchmarks that best fit the needs of their library and community, resulting in a uniquely sustainable organization. 

The mission is to empower library leaders to advance environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically feasible practices to intentionally address climate change and co-create thriving communities. The program has collectively offset the equivalent of 8.15 million letter pages of paper consumption by reforesting 977.88 trees since joining PrintReleaf in August 2021.

According to Roger Reyes, assistant director of the Suffolk County Cooperative Library System and co-creator of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, “The Center Moriches Library has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability at an impressive level. They are early adopters of this work in the field and in their community and are helping lead the way to create a vibrant, future-focused library that is contributing to community resilience both locally and globally.”

The Sustainable Library Certification Program and the SLI community of practice focuses on the individual library’s leadership to enable them. To become certified, the library must first survey their stakeholders and form a sustainability team. That team then takes a closer look at how things are done and/or consumed at the library. They then think about how to proceed differently with tips from the initiative. Finally, a presentation is required to both summarize the work done for the evaluation team as well as to assist the team in spreading the word locally. The certification process typically takes 18 to 24 months to complete.

As the Center Moriches team learns more and delves further into the certification process, Litjens said that they will include additional staff members to help promote, support, and achieve the goals of the initiative. Currently, the library is working on energy and waste audits. They are also planning a sustainability celebration on Earth Day that will focus on their organic, non-GMO seed library, home gardening and crafts and displays. The celebration will take place on Saturday, April 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

For more information about the program visit: https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/