Cultivating Sustainable Academic Libraries: From Mindset to Practice

What if sustainability in academic libraries began not with doing more, but with seeing differently? 

This interactive preconference, co-sponsored by the Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI), invites academic library workers to envision a more sustainable future for academic libraries in Ohio. 

Participants will be introduced to the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI), which recently formed a partnership with ALAO, and consider how everyday library practice can be transformed and supported by a mindset focused on a balance of environmental stewardship, social equity, relationships, responsible resources use, and well-being 

At its heart, sustainability connects closely with what librarians already do well: stewardship. Librarians help to sustain resources, knowledge, spaces, and communities with attention to both present needs and future generations. From this perspective, participants will explore how academic libraries can advance sustainability as a joyful practice and from where they are. 

Through appreciative conversation and reflection, participants will consider what stewardship looks like in their own context, what practical actions can help sustain people, libraries, and communities during times of increasing disruption, and how our relationships with the natural world can inform this work. 

The emphasis of the sustainability movement in libraries is not on adding more to an already full plate, but on approaching existing and evolving work with greater intention and making meaningful choices with what we can influence now. The program will include practical application and a short, guided reflective exercise outdoors focused on restoration, self-reflection, and connection with the natural world. 

Lunch is not included for this free event. Participants are welcome to bring snacks and encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and shoes suitable for spending a portion of the session outdoors, including walking, and sitting outside.

About the SLI

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) provides library leaders with a proven path forward to co-create libraries and communities that will thrive in the coming years. The Sustainable Library Certification Program and the SLI community of practice enables you, your library, and ultimately the community you serve, to become more environmentally sound, socially equitable and economically feasible. In 2026, SLI and ALAO formed a partnership to help bring resources to ALAO members.

PRESENTERS

Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros is an educator, engaged scholar, and organizational development consultant whose work explores how people, organizations, and communities can transform and flourish together through change. Through Imagine Lucha Lab, a social enterprise grounded in a head, heart, and hands approach, she helps individuals and organizations build sustainable practices that strengthen capacity, interdependence, and collective flourishing.

Pamela is an award-winning public and academic librarian and serves as an Associate Professor and Area Studies Librarian at The Ohio State University. She has led leadership development programs for the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries, Minnesota Institute for Early Career Librarians, OhioNet, the State Library of Ohio, and the Association of Research Libraries. Her work has been recognized with a Fulbright García Robles Fellowship and The Ohio State University Community Engaged Scholar Award. She is an active member of ALAO and SALALM, her two professional association homes, which she values for their strong sense of community.

Rebecca Miller