For Immediate Release
October 16, 2025

Charlotte Library is Certified Sustainable
The Sustainable Libraries Initiative recognizes Charlotte Library
as a leader in sustainability.

Suffolk County, NY –October 16, 2025 – Charlotte Library located in Charlotte, Vermont has been designated as a Certified Sustainable Library through the Sustainable Library Certification Program (SLCP).

Charlotte Library embodies resilience, community, and environmental stewardship through sustainable practices ingrained in its facility and everyday philosophies. Through participation in the SLCP, the small rural library shares its dedication to creating a better world. 

 “The Charlotte Library is delighted to join the company of amazing Certified Sustainable Libraries,” said Library Director Margaret Woodruff, “Thanks to our involvement, we accomplished goals big--we now boast net-zero energy status-- and small--we now also offer recycling for everything from batteries to toothpaste tubes. We are proud to have added a pedestrian crossing, upgraded our website, and enhanced our rain garden. We look forward to building on this work in our library and our community.”

After an expansion project that included upgraded lighting and a heat pump HVAC system, the library saves nearly 15% on their energy consumption. Furthermore, natural cooling from strategically placed shading and the use of electricity from solar panels on a town garage make Charlotte Library a net-zero facility. 

“A heartfelt congratulations to the staff for their dedication to serving the residents of their rural community. Their sustainability work meets essential needs such as food, clean water, a safe space, access to information, and a sense of belonging,” said SLI mentor Jennifer Ferriss. 

Community connection is an apparent value to the library. In one instance, the library invited Braver Angels -- a national organization with a mission to bring communities divided by politics back together, to host a “Bridging the Divide” program. The program encourages healthy cross-partisan conversations, mutual respect between those with different beliefs, and the importance of finding common ground. 

With this achievement, Charlotte Library becomes the twenty-ninth public library to become designated as a sustainable library through the SLCP: an award-winning benchmarking system and community of practice designed to provide public libraries, academic libraries, library systems, and school librarians with exclusive resources and guidelines to shift towards a cleaner, greener, and more equitable future. 

Charlotte Library continues to advocate for sustainability with a petition in the works for a new bus stop in town within walking distance of the library. The bus stop would make library visits more accessible for residents of Charlotte and the surrounding communities. Patrons may also look forward to future programs on bike safety to accompany the library’s plans for the installation of a bike repair station next year. 

Ferriss added, “Although I was officially Margaret's mentor, our roles were often reversed during her monthly meetups with other Vermont libraries and through the impactful work she has contributed to the profession. I look forward to seeing what’s next for them—because certification is not the end, but rather a small part of the whole journey.”