Event

The concept of sustainability in libraries is multidimensional. It is a critical topic that addresses the need for environmental, financial, and socially responsible practices.

Libraries face challenges related to print and digital collections, technological infrastructure, free services, building costs and ecological impact. In a time when library budgets are under pressure we must maintain stability in our collections with evidence based decisions, balancing our users needs with economics.

It might be thought that the broad principle of digital first, reducing the paper and carbon footprint, is the right direction to take, but what are the costs of housing and cooling servers and data processing? These are complex decisions with many factors.

Hear from our collection of speakers as they address these various aspects of sustainability and how they are making an impact.

Speakers at the Event

• Nick Woolley (Sheffield Hallam, Director of Library & Campus Services).

  Nick has been the Director of Library and Campus Services at Sheffield Hallam University since 2019. Prior to that, Nick held posts at Northumbria University, most recently Director of Student and Library Services, and King’s College London, where his final role was Associate Director for Information Resources. Nick is chair of NEYAL and serves on the JISC Content Expert Group, JISC Transitional Agreements Oversight Group, and the UKRR Advisory Board. He has previously worked as part of RLUK, UKSG, and Sherif, and with many organisations in the knowledge community.

  His presentation was titled “Finding a Sustainable Future for Academic Libraries” - The slides are accessible from here.

• Thomas Shaw (Kings College London, Deputy Director, Libraries & Collections).

  Tom Shaw is Deputy Director for Libraries & Collections at King’s College London. He has worked in libraries for over 25 years, for organisations including Lancaster University, the University of East London, NHS Direct and the University of Bristol. He has a strong professional interest in the value and opportunities of digital for libraries, and is co-chair of Research Libraries UK’s Digital Shift Working Group.

  His presentation was titled "How sustainable are we really? The challenge of understanding the climate impact of libraries" - The slides are accessible from here.
• Lisa McLaren (Deputy Director at SCONUL)

Lisa is the current Deputy Director at SCONUL and leads on services, including the remit for sustainability. She has worked in a number of universities, including Russell Group, research intensive and post 92s, as well as other sectors, such as the NHS, public and school libraries.

Her presentation was titled "SCONUL and sustainability" - The slides are accessible from here.