For Immediate Release

May 30, 2025

San Diego State University Library is Certified Sustainable
The Sustainable Libraries Initiative recognizes San Diego State University
as a leader in sustainability.

Suffolk County, NY –May 30, 2025 – San Diego State University located in San Diego, California is the first public library in California to complete the award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program (SLCP) through the Sustainable Libraries Initiative.

Less than two years after beginning the Sustainable Library Certification Program, San Diego State University Library has earned their certification by demonstrating their commitment and dedication to sustainable practices campus-wide. 

"The SDSU Library's engagement in sustainability through the SLCP has transformed its role on campus. The library directly supports student success by working to provide essential academic resources, reducing costs, enhancing well-being, and creating engaging spaces and programs,” said SDSU Science and Sustainability Librarian Sarah Tribelhorn. “Simultaneously, it serves as a vital partner in advancing the university's broader sustainability, diversity, and strategic goals, increasing its visibility, relevance, and value across the entire campus community. This exciting initiative would not be possible without the members of the Green Team and my library colleagues."

The work done by the library on their sustainability journey earned them a place at the table in some of the University’s major discussions pertaining to the topic, such as the soon to be released 2025 SDSU Climate Action Plan -- in which the library is considered a stakeholder. 

The library makes student learning and wellness a priority with programs such as book talks, “pick-me-up” kits, community reading hours, digital declutter workshops, climate justice and resilience webinars, a bilingual UN Sustainable Development Goals poster exhibit, and daily library wellness walks and virtual yoga. 

"The San Diego State University Library’s journey during the SLCP beautifully illustrated their robust collaborative spirit in expanding user experiences and knowledge. This was evident in their proactive outreach to fellow academic libraries within the state system, neighboring public libraries, and even those geographically distant, all in the spirit of sharing ideas and exploring innovative concepts,” said SDSU’s SLI mentor Nardia Cumberbatch. 

With this achievement, San Diego State University becomes the third academic library, and first in California, to earn SLCP certification: 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. 

The library’s dedication to a more sustainable campus is exemplified by their future goals. In the coming time, the library’s Green Team hopes to write a disaster management plan, implement a sustainability kiosk, include more student representation, further develop sustainable outreach programming, and learn more about monitoring energy use. 

In light of these ambitions, Cumberbatch noted, “I eagerly anticipate witnessing the novel ways this dedicated library team will continue to integrate sustainable practices as they build upon the valuable experiences gained throughout this certification process."

For more information, please visit the San Diego State University Library’s sustainability website or view their final presentation. 

About the Sustainable Libraries Initiative

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative is a member-driven organization that empowers library professionals to be leaders in triple-bottom-line sustainability (environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic feasibility) both within their organizations and in their communities. The Sustainable Library Certification Program is now enrolling public and academic libraries, library systems, and school librarians.