Survey: Climate Action and Canadian Libraries

May 6, 2024

The Canadian Federation of Library Associations’ (CFLA) Climate Action Committee is surveying the library community to better understand how CFLA can support climate action work in Canadian libraries.

In September 2023, CFLA launched this Climate Action Committee in order to:

• Explore issues and identify climate crisis concerns and act as an information resource providing policy recommendations for the CFLA-FCAB Board on climate crisis issues;
• Support the Canadian library and information sector in responding collectively to the climate crisis;
• Focus on capacity building and work in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals relating to climate action; and
• Monitor ongoing progress in these areas.

Responses from this survey will be used to develop the CFLA Climate Action Committee’s inaugural work plan.

All members of the library community are invited to fill out this survey. Multiple responses from within the same institution are accepted. We project that this survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

• Complete the Survey

Survey Questions

My organization type is:

• public library
• academic library
• elementary or secondary school library
• special library
• library/information school
• government library
• advocacy group
• association
• library consortium
• other:

My organization is located in:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Northwest Territories
• Nova Scotia
• Nunavut
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Québec
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon
• National

Please provide the first three digits of your organization’s postal code:

How many employees/volunteers work in your organization?

• 0-9
• 10-24
• 25-49
• 50-99
• 100-299
• 300+

What is the name of your organization?

Does your organization already have a sustainability or climate action plan in place?
Please provide us a link to the plan, or email a copy to mrogowski@cfla-fcab.ca

If yes, at what level was this plan developed?

• Library branch
• Library system
• Parent organization

CFLA is looking to support and build on the existing work being done. In order to avoid duplicating efforts, please tell us of any ongoing climate action taking place within your organization or within the broader library sector that you think the CFLA Climate Action Committee should be aware of. Where possible, provide web links to existing work.

What challenges, if any, do you face in your library that prevent you from implementing climate change actions?

• don’t know where to start/no plan of action
• lack of relevant organisational expertise
• lack of capacity/too many existing responsibilities
• financial barriers
• lack of government leadership
• lack of administrative support
• lack of community buy-in OR risks to public perception
• other:

How can the CFLA Climate Action Committee best serve you and/or your organization, and in what form? Options that CFLA is considering are listed below, and we welcome any further suggestions you might have:

• Highlighting successful climate-action library programs, services, and resources
• Creating accessible, plain language summaries on climate action issues
• A periodic newsletter
• Coordinating a community of practice
• Benchmarking climate action progress in libraries nationally
• Point of contact for regional library institutions and associations
• Facilitating web archiving and data preservation around climate action and environmental data
• Professional development opportunities and resources (please specify in comment box)
• Capacity building around emergency preparedness
• Resources for navigating climate change disinformation
• Provide a climate action expert for libraries to consult with
• Advocating for, accessing, and distributing federal funding in the sector for climate action initiatives
• Other:

CFLA advocates to the federal government on national issues (See details on CFLA’s advocacy role). What climate-related issues would you like us to prioritize in our advocacy work?

• Sustainable Development Goals
• Environmental Literacy
• Infrastructure Funding
• Legislation
• Role of libraries in emergency and disaster response
• Role for libraries in the circular or sharing economy
• Other:

Is there any other information you would like to share with the CFLA Climate Action Committee?

(Via CFLA Climate Action Committee)