Document Type : Research Paper

Author

M.A. in Knowledge and Information Science, Head of Kermanshah Public Library General Secretariat, Kermanshah. Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the trend of the movement of Iranian public libraries in Kermanshah towards green libraries and sustainable development. The research is a descriptive-survey method. Data was collected using a checklist and a researcher-made questionnaire. The research community was the managers of the public libraries of Kermanshah, numbering 96 people. Using the Cochran formula, the sample size was estimated to be 76. Data with SPSS software Analyzed.
The findings showed the highest savings in paper consumption and the lowest in transportation. The rate of paper consumption was the highest average (3.70) and compliance with environmental standards in transport has the lowest average (1.83). The libraries in terms of moving towards green libraries and sustainable development from their viewpoints are relatively good and slightly above average. The importance of environmental standards for strategic goals and the codified plans of public libraries and environmental education in libraries was below average and poor. The findings also suggested that public library managers were more than average interested in creating a green room or office to study environmental standards and environmental issues in public libraries. The results of the research showed that the National Public Libraries Institute should be pursued more effectively with the establishment of binding directives and regulations for moving towards green libraries and sustainable development. Although the situation of the public libraries examined was relatively good from the point of view of their authorities, a great deal is ahead of reaching the ideal situation.

Keywords

Afacan, Y. (2017). Sustainable library buildings: green design needs and interior architecture students' ideas for special collection rooms. Journal of Academic Librarianship43(5), 375-383.
Ambrozic, K., & Barnes, L. L. (2012). Green buildings as sustainability education tools. Library Hi Tech, 30(3), 397-407.
Binks, L., Braithwaite, E., Hogarth, L., Logan, A., & Wilson, S. (2014). Tomorrow's green public library. The Australian Library Journal63(4), 301-312.
Cardoso, N. B. (2015). Sustainable and Green Libraries in Brazil: Guidelines for Local Governments. Presented at IFLA World Library and Information Congress 81st IFLA General Conference and Assembly. Retrieved February 10, 2019 from http://library.ifla.org/1207/1/095-cardoso-en.pdf
European Environment Agency Retrieved February 5, 2019 from https://europa.eu
Ghorbani, M. (2018). Designing a Green Library Evaluation checklist. presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2019 from https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/environmental-sustainability-and-libraries/news/5-iran_green_awards_article.pdf
Hauke, P. (2015). How to become/ How to identify a Green Library? Standards for Certification. Presented at IFLA World Library and Information Congress 81st IFLA General Conference and Assembly. Retrieve February 1, 2019 from http://library.ifla.org/1237/1/095-hauke-en.pdf
Jones, L., & Wong, W. (2016). More than just a green building Developing green strategies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library, Library Management, 37 (6&7), 373-384.
Karioja, E. (2013). Sustainability In Libraries A comparative study of ecological sustainability in IFLA WLIC 2012. Bachelor’s thesis, Oulu University of Applied Sciences.
Olson, E. G. (2008). Creating an enterprise‐level “green” strategy. Journal of business strategy, 29(2), 22-30
Peterson, R. A., von Isenburg, M., Dietsch, B., & Lucas, D. (2014). Going Green: One Library's Journey Toward Sustainability. Journal of Hospital Librarianship14(1), 14-23.
Qutab, S., Faruqui Ali, Z., & Shafi Ullah, F. (2016). Environmentally sustainable library buildings: Opportunities and challenges for Asian countries. presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2019 from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Fourie, I. (2012). A call for libraries to go green An information behaviour perspective to draw interest from twenty-first century librarians. Library Hi Tech, 30(3), 428-435.
Guo, J., Chen, Z. J., & Tao, Z. (2013). To Build a Green University Library-Architectural Design of Hefei Institute Library. In Applied Mechanics and Materials (Vol. 368, pp. 150-155). Trans Tech Publications Ltd. February 13, 2019 http://www.scientific.net/AMM.368-370.150
Xu, H. (2016). Using Library and Information technologies and Resources to Support Sustainability Projects presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2019 from: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Tseng, S. H. (2008). Green library design and evaluation: the Taipei Public Library, Taiwan. New Library World, 109 (7/8), 321-336.