Story by Sydney Kelso
Illustration by Carson Hendrickson
Design by Sasha Smith
Libraries have been around for almost as long as civilization itself, and throughout history, they have served many purposes. Public libraries are commonplace in towns, with some cities having multiple locations, and they are a staple of college campuses.
The University of Idaho’s library is the largest library in the state of Idaho, and it is also home to over a million books, including rare books, historical documents and jazz collections; in fact, it is the leading collection of jazz archives in the Pacific Northwest.
Ben Hunter, Dean of the UI Library, noted that, while libraries started as a way to share content due to the scarcity of resources, today they are used to share content in many different sustainable ways.
“When libraries started, it was because there were only so many scrolls you could do something with,” Hunter said. “The more contemporary incarnation of libraries, though, comes from the realization that there is this huge amount of materials that might as well be shared, rather than bought individually, because it’s simply not sustainable to do that.”
Hunter noted that this is especially true in the context of an academic setting.
“It just doesn’t make sense, especially in an academic setting such as a library, for everyone who needs to do research to buy each textbook individually.”
With the fairly recent pivot from libraries simply a place to share content to a place that supports sustainability, the rise of technology has only helped libraries in their sustainability efforts.
“The vast majority of our traditional library materials are going to electronic formats; eJournals and eBooks are on the rise. Still, making those online resources available to everyone, rather than having one-off copies, is helping with sustainability in that it’s another way to share materials. Additionally, with the rise in digital publishing, we now have a more sustainable method of scholarly communication. Instead of requiring all students to either buy textbooks or print course packets, they can simply access something online.”
Of course, looking at screens all day is not ideal, and thus, print copies can be favored in that sense.
“Alternatively, there are specific eBook devices, like Kindles, that can help combat eye strain because they are not backlit,” Hunter said. “I do think there is a difference between squinting at a phone screen all day and taking time to sit down and read something on a tablet or computer. Additionally, electronics have the ability to make text larger, making books in general more accessible.”
At the end of the day, both eBooks and print copies have their pros and cons, but altogether, with the efforts of libraries, they are only helping the planet.
“Libraries are simply here to foster an environment where people don’t need to rely on buying books they’ll only read through once,” Hunter said. “At their core, libraries are about having a community band together to purchase materials that we can all share.”