“Green Libraries” – new Nordic-Russian cooperation project
At the online meeting on 26 August the libraries from St. Petersburg, Leningrad Region, and Nordic countries launched the Libraries as Green Community Centres in North-West Russia / Green Libraries international project. The project is aimed at supporting the establishing of contacts and strengthening the exchange of experience and ideas between library experts on such topics as sustainability of libraries and libraries’ contribution to raising awareness about environmental challenges in local communities.
Green Libraries project will include the following activities:
- Online seminars on the experiences developed by Nordic and Russian libraries in such areas as organization of ecological events and cooperation with ecological initiatives, promotion of eco-literature, and reduction of carbon footprint;
- Online workshops on re-use design for children and youth;
- Green events at the Russian libraries with online participation of the Nordic libraries.
Green Libraries project’s participants are:
- Vladimir Mayakovsky Central City Public Library, St. Petersburg https://pl.spb.ru/
- Daniil Granin Library, St. Petersburg https://nevcbs.spb.ru/biblioteka-9
- Children’s Foreign Literature Library, St. Petersburg https://www.pushkinlib.spb.ru/about/biblioteka-inostrannoy-literatury/
- Alvar Aalto Library, Vyborg https://aalto.vbgcity.ru/excursion_eng
- City Children’s Library, Gatchina http://child-lib-gtn.ru/
- Aarhus Public Libraries, Denmark https://www.aakb.dk/temaer/welcome-library
- Helsinki City Library, Finland https://www.helmet.fi/en-US
- Stormen Library, Norway https://stormen.no/bibliotek/
- Hässleholm Public Libraries, Sweden https://snokabibliotek.se/web/arena/hassleholmsstadsbibliotek
- Sörmland County Library, Sweden
At the online meeting on 26 August the project’s participants presented their green activities. For example, the Children’s Foreign Literature Library organizes the Linnaea School with workshops, experiments, and observation journals to learn about Northern nature. GROW!yourLibrary by the Aarhus Public Libraries invites youngsters to the library’s garden and focuses on the topics of climate change, sustainability and recycling. One of the Vladimir Mayakovsky Central City Public Library’s branches, Linii (Lines) library holds a series of webinars, Reasonable Matters as a dialogue with community on sustainable consumption.
Green Libraries project will be concluded on 30 September 2022. It is organized by Danish Cultural Institute with the support from the Nordic Culture Fund.
Photographs: Adam Mørk