With Earth Day being celebrated later this month, University Libraries is proud to be participating in Texas State’s Sustainability Expo on Thursday, Apr. 13 in the LBJ Student Center Ballroom. Come visit our table and bring a book to swap!
Libraries strive to be eco-friendly and there are many ways that Texas State’s University Libraries help to reduce the university’s carbon footprint and support academic exploration of sustainability and green practices.
Here is a top five list of these efforts:
#5 Recycle waste materials and use recycled supplies in our MakerSpace. We are constantly coming up with new ways to recycle or reuse materials in the Alkek One MakerSpace. We recycle 3D printing filament waste and use scrap cardboard, wood, and other materials for many of the projects created in the space.
#4 Maintain a robust collection of resources, databases, and articles for campus sustainability researchers. We maintain a variety of subscriptions that provide up-to-date research on topics related to sustainability studies and ensure access to catalog resources on eco-friendly sustainability topics. We also borrow and share these materials with other libraries through our InterLibrary Loan program.
#3 Digitize physical materials so that they can be accessed electronically. Researchers from around the world can access and study our unique research materials without having to travel to see them. Digitizing materials helps replace resource-intensive physical products with virtual equivalents.
#2 Purchase e-Resources and AudioBooks. An ever-increasing portion of the library’s collection budget is spent on electronic resources instead of physical materials. Yearly, 90 percent of the library’s collection budget is spent on electronic resources. In addition, we recently added a new collection of audiobooks and are continually adding new titles to this electronic resource.
#1 Lend, share and reuse reading materials. Libraries have always contributed to cost-savings and sustainability. The library gives people free access to reading materials that are reused over and over again for decades and longer in some cases.
There are many other ongoing efforts that library staff engage in to support the study of and application of sustainability principles. Let’s work together to build a better planet!
This article contributed by University Libraries Marketing and Communications Coordinator Debbie Pitts.