Earth Day 2020
April 22, 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. To celebrate, we participated in online events and created Summer of Learning programs for kids with an “Every Day Is Earth Day” theme.
Environmental Equity Programs
From 2018 to 2019, our Social Justice series focused on Environmental Equity through a range of community partnerships that engaged communities in Seattle neighborhoods including Seward Park, West Seattle, Northgate, and Sandpoint.
Reducing Our Footprint
We strive to reduce our impact on the environment through our collections and operations.
Digital collections
Use of e-books, streaming video and music, and online resources is steadily increasing as the resource-intensive circulation of physical books and other materials declines.
Floating collections
We reduce the impact of transporting materials by allowing many items to stay at the branch where they are returned.
Digital communications
We reduce the use of paper by doing a large portion of our communication with patrons via email, text or digital receipts. We also focus our marketing efforts on digital channels and social media.
Waste reduction
All 27 Library locations use recycling and compost to reduce the waste going to landfills. Some of our books are donated to the Friends of the Library for their sales when we take them out of circulation.