Libraries, sustainability and sustainable development: a review of the research literature
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-11-2021-0226 |
| Published date | 23 March 2022 |
| Date | 23 March 2022 |
| Pages | 1278-1304 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Mia Høj Mathiasson,Henrik Jochumsen |
Libraries, sustainability and
sustainable development: a review
of the research literature
Mia Høj Mathiasson and Henrik Jochumsen
Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this literature review is to provide an overview of and insights into a selected
bibliography of 102 research publications on libraries –of all types –sustainability and sustainable
development, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Design/methodology/approach –The review procedure is inspired by the hermeneutic literature review
method, referring to a circular process of searching, sorting, selecting, acquiring, reading, identifying and
refining. The publications are mapped to provide an overview of the research field. Following the research
mapping, all publications are categorized as either environmental, economic, social, cultural or holistic
according to their usage andunderstanding of the core concepts of sustainability and sustainable development.
Finally, the main rationalesbehind the core concepts are identified, and their possible implications on the role of
libraries and librarians are discussed.
Findings –Of the 102 research publications, 45 are categorized as environmental, 9 as economic, 9 as social, 3
as cultural and 36 as holistic. The main rationales identified across these categories are optimization,
legitimation, demonstration and transformation. The possible implications behind these rationales are that
libraries and librarians should be resourceful, explicit about their motivations, serve as good examples and act
as change agents. Increasingly, libraries and librarians are expected to act proactivelyin relation to the global
sustainability agenda.
Originality/value –This literature review provides a unique overview of and insights into an emerging
research field, which are needed for future research and discussion about the potentiality of libraries and
librarians in solving global sustainability challenges.
Keywords Libraries, Librarianship, Sustainability, Sustainable development, Sustainable development goals
(SDGs), Literature review, Hermeneutic literature review, Research mapping
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
Both academic, as well as public libraries, are important partners to act as agents for change [...]
Moving forward from teaching information literacy to educating sustainability literacy that touches
any and every circumstance of life seems to be the libraries’meaningful contribution to help achieve
the Agenda 2030 goals (Hauke, 2018, p. 1, emphasis added).
Since the advent of the so-called Green Library Movement in North America in the 1990s
(Antonelli, 2008), libraries’commitment to sustainability and sustainable development has
become increasingly visible, also on a global level. Whereas the Green Library Movement
focused on an environmental understanding of sustainability by “greening”libra ry
buildings, practices and services (Antonelli, 2008), today, libraries and librarians are
JD
78,6
1278
This literature review has been written as part of the research project UPSCALE: Upscaling sustainable
collaborative consumption using public libraries, funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The authors
would like to thank their colleagues in the UPSCALE project, Professor Marit Aure, Professor Anniken
Førde and PhD Fellow Espen Barratt-Due Solum, for their helpful feedback and critical comments on an
earlier draft of this paper. In addition, the authors would like to pay gratitude to the two anonymous
reviewers for their constructive criticism and valuable recommendations that helped improve the final
version of this literature review.
Received 12 November 2021
Revised 12 January 2022
Accepted 21 January 2022
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 78 No. 6, 2022
pp. 1278-1304
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-11-2021-0226
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
increasingly expected to act proactively in relation to the global sustainability agenda.
Worldwide, libraries and librarians have established task forces, networks and partnerships
to work proactively for sustainable development and change (Kraljevi
c and Luka
ci
c, 2015;
Tanner et al., 2019).
IFLA’s adaption of the United Nations 2030 Agenda of “Transforming our world”and the
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) exemplifies a growing focus on libraries and
librarians working with or contributing to sustainability and sustainable development. As
the former IFLA president Gl
oria P
erez-Salmer
on has claimed; “Libraries are the motors for
change”(Hauke, 2018, p. 1). Through their strategy “Global Vision,”IFLA calls on libraries
and librarians to take action and “initiate the change that is urgently needed facing global
challenges like climate change, poverty, hunger, gender equality etc.”(Hauke, 2018, p. 1). This
call for action is further articulated in the 2021 IFLA World Library and Information
Congress theme “Let’s work together for the future”(IFLA, 2021).
The focus on libraries and librarians working with or contributing to sustainability and
sustainable development can also be found in the research literature. The number of research
publications on these topics has grown since the late 1990s, increasingly since the 2010s.
However, contrary to the vast number of research publications on green libraries (S
¸es
¸en and
Kuzucuoglu, 2020)[1], and literature reviews on the Green Library Movement (Antonelli,
2008)[2], few reviews of research literature on libraries, sustainability and/or sustainable
development are found. Moreover, little is known about the implications of these concepts on
libraries and librarianship.
Sustainability and sustainable development
Although there is a conceptual difference between “sustainability”and “sustainable
development”, according to library researchers Gaspar L. Pinto and Paula Och^
oa, these
concepts are often used interchangeably, since they “both entail the same parameters and
implications in terms of policy and strategies”(Pinto and Och^
oa, 2018,p.46).Sustainability is a
broad concept referring to a complex of economic, environmental and social conditions, often
referred to as sustainability’s“three pillars”or “components.”As a policy term, sustainability has
its roots in the UN World Commission on Environment and Development report from 1987
(Kuhlman and Farrington, 2010), also known as “The Brundtland Report,”named after the
commission chair and former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland. Here,
sustainability is defined as “a state of affairs where the sum of natural and man-made resources
remains at least constant for the foreseeable future, in order that the well-being of future
generationsdoesnotdecline”(UN Secretary-General and World Commission on Environment
and Development, 1987). In the Brundtland Report (1987), sustainable development is defined as
“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”Over time, both definitions have evolve d into a broader
awareness of the interconnectedness of humans and nature, linking the environment with
economic and social development (Charney, 2014), as well as a growing focus on culture. Thus, the
concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are not simply about “being green”
(Charney, 2014,p.21).Bothconceptsentail“a transformative movement that demands a
paradigm shift toward rethinking and reworking how we live,learn and interact on the planet”
(Charney, 2014, p. 21 emphasis added). The inclusion of cultureisparticularly relevant here.
While culture was initially considered a component of social sustainability, today, culture
is increasingly regarded as a distinct component or “fourth pillar”of sustainability (Thiele,
2016;Loach et al., 2017, p. 190) [3]. As argued by sustainability theorist Leslie P. Thiele, when
“insisting on cultural creativity as the fourth component of sustainability, we underline the
fact that our practices, relationships, and institutions have to initiate and respond to change if
they are to endure for long”(Thiele, 2016, p. 4). Thus, a certain level of proactivity and agility
Libraries and
sustainability:
a review
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