For Immediate Release
October 29, 2025

Sustainable Libraries Initiative Partners with the Michigan Library Association
 The Sustainable Libraries Initiative partners with the Michigan Library Association to cultivate library leadership for community resilience.

           New York–October 29, 2025 - A new partnership between the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) and the Michigan Library Association (MLA) aims to equip MLA members with tools and resources to address the challenges and mitigate the impact of climate change in their communities.

“We are very excited to work more closely with the Michigan Library Association and enable all of their members to accelerate their adoption of practices that will help them live their values out loud while adapting in the face of climate change,” said Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Board President of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, “Positioning the Michigan library community as leaders in this conversation will allow them to follow the lead of hundreds of other libraries in our program, a strong move to ensure libraries contribute to their community’s resilience and remain relevant and responsive institutions.”

Through this partnership, MLA members will join a nationwide community of practice who are using SLI-curated tools to uncover ways that their libraries and communities can understand, adapt to, and help lessen the effects of climate change. These tools include hundreds of best practices proven by peers, access to an archive of professional development focused on the core value of sustainability, program examples, a vetted vendor list, and a custom CO2 calculator to help members estimate their current institutional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and measure reductions, and custom publicity pieces to help libraries tell their sustainability story.

"Our partnership with the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) is ensuring Michigan libraries have access to valuable sustainability resources and coursework, which aim to help libraries become more environmentally sound," said Dillon Geshel, Interim Executive Director of the Michigan Library Association. "We're thrilled help empower libraries to make intentional choices that limit their environmental impact, and the SLI resources do just that."

 The Sustainable Libraries Initiative’s Sustainable Library Certification Program (SLCP) — available to public libraries, academic libraries, library systems, and school librarians — provides libraries with a reliable course of action to enhance library leadership and demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship, economic feasibility, and social equity. The certification program guides participants to evaluate their decision-making philosophies, build stronger connections within their community, and consider the lasting impacts of their action for their service area. 

A number of Michiganders have already joined the SLI community of practice, including the East Lansing Public Library, which is blazing a trail in the state as an early adopter of the Sustainable Library Certification Program.

Members of the Michigan Library Association who opt-in via the SLI website will receive one free year of annual membership to the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and a 20% discount on the award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program. Cohorts of five or more libraries will receive a 25% discount on certification, supporting the principle that there is power in collective action.

SLI President Rebekkah Smith Aldrich will be presenting the keynote at the upcoming Michigan Library Association Conference on October 30, 2025 to launch the partnership. Learn more with our MLA Partnership Dashboard or by reaching out to sliadmin@suffolknet.org. 

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

Michigan Library Association
The Michigan Library Association (MLA) is Michigan's oldest and largest library association. MLA has served the library profession in Michigan for more than 130 years. Our membership includes more than 2500 libraries and individuals throughout Michigan from public, academic, school and special libraries, and organizations supportive of libraries. We are a collaborative network of libraries, library professionals and library supporters who are dedicated to advocating for libraries, growing professionally as leaders in the library community and advancing the profession through sharing of best practices, innovative ideas and new programs and services that benefit library personnel, library patrons and the communities we serve.