RE: Question for Tuesday, September 26: What Can Libraries Do,What Do Libraries Need

[Christine <Siegel>]

I firmly believe that libraries are for the most part the places where people go to seek information.  This being said, if we are to get environmental information to our communities we must forge community partnerships between libraries and community groups, schools, etc.  In the City of San Diego, the Environmental Services Department is responsible for

1)Refuse Collection 
2)Refuse Disposal 
3) Environmental Programs such as Recycling, Hazardous Waste, Vermicomposting,  
4)Environmental Regulation and Permitting 
4) Stormwater  
5) Sustainable and Green Building and 
6)Projects such as the mining of landfill gas for converting ourt fleet to LNG. 

In order for us to do the best job, it is imperative we get information to the public.  For instance the public must understand how trash must be sorted for collection, i.e greens, recylables, etc.  They must understand the California mandate to reduce the amount of trash going into the landfill.  They must know about stormdrain pollution affecting out beaches and rivers.  They must know about energy efficiency, especially evident with recent deregulation (who hasn't heard about the bruhaha in S.D. regarding huge power bills as a result) thus the importance of our demonstration green building.  So, Environmental Services decided the best way to educate the public was to offer them a library where they could come and research their environmental questions.  Building a library also offered the department staff a centralized, organized place to store and be able to access informational materials.  In order for the library to realize success, it was imperative that the public be made aware of it's existence. Who wants to build it, and have nobody come?  Thus, the idea of partnering with another city agency, voila, the library department to catalog the materials for inclusion in the public library catalog, offer them available for loan with a public library card and through a branch delivery system, and order books and journals taking advantage of library and system-wide discounts.  Now the public can go into their local branch, search the catalog, and when they find a book that says "available- Environmental Library" the next question is "what's the environemntal library"  instant P.R.  That's a community partnership that works.  We also partner with the schools.  We offer on site educational programs teaching about waste, source reduction, composting, xeriscaping, landfill and green building tours and even service opportunities such as planting native plants for landfill revegetation. Our community partnerships have been a great way for the professionals working in the environemntal field to help educate the public as well as to keep them informed.