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Cheery Friday Greetings,
Advocacy. As you may know, yesterday on May 7 the State just passed its 10th budget extender. It remains a good time to write to the legislative and executive leadership to keep libraries in their hearts and minds during the final budget negotiations. See the April 10th edition of the News for complete information.
Day of Action. Friday, May 1 encompassed many observances and traditions: International Workers' Day, Beltane/Calan Gaeaf, the Flower Full Moon, and May Day itself. I still remember making little baskets of flowers as a child and leaving them on neighbors’ doorsteps. This year, May 1 was also observed as a “Day of Action,” tied to International Workers’ Day. While the holiday is not as widely recognized in the United States as a Labor Day, it has long been associated with worker rights and social justice movements, including organizations such as Indivisible and May Day Strong.
International Workers’ Day also has deep roots in U.S. history. For example, in 1886, workers across the country went on strike demanding an eight-hour workday. Several days later, on May 4, the Haymarket affair took place in Chicago, when a dynamite bomb was thrown into a crowd gathered in protest, killing demonstrators and police officers. The event became an enduring symbol of collective action and of workers’ struggle and sacrifice, both in the United States and around the world. Wikipedia has a comprehensive article about it with many citations, references, and external links. Cornell University Library's Kheel Center Digital Collections shares significant archival history about workplace, labor relations, and management.
Fast forward to last week: thousands of rallies, marches, walkouts, and community events were planned nationwide. Some organizers encouraged businesses and schools to close; workers and students were urged not to report to work or school, and participants were encouraged to refrain from shopping for the day. Although many different groups took part, a shared belief among them was that collective action by ordinary people can help create a more equitable, democratic, and inclusive society.
These are values that resonate with SCRLC, and the Board of Trustees thoughtfully considered whether SCRLC itself should close for the day. After careful and thoughtful discussion, the decision was made to remain open. Staff members who wished to participate in events were, of course, welcome to use vacation or personal leave time to do so. We also agreed to refrain from purchasing that Friday—admittedly easier for us than for some organizations, since we do not make large numbers of purchases on any given day. The discussion prompted an interesting question as well: if purchases are simply shifted to Thursday or Saturday, what is the real impact?
In that we are currently working toward Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) certification, we thought we would spend some time reflecting on our own purchasing practices, reviewing the purchasing policy under development by the Bylaws Committee, and having a broader conversation about sustainability and ethics in procurement. Staff members who were in the office gathered sustainability/environmental policies from several of the companies with which we frequently do business.
Because some SCRLC staff members were traveling, attending conferences, or out of the office for other reasons, the broader conversation happened at our staff meeting earlier this week, when everyone could participate. It was, by all accounts, a thoughtful and worthwhile discussion. In case anyone is interested, below are a few policy statements from companies with which we do substantial business, along with a link to the Alfred University librarians’ article on prison labor and library furniture.
Note that we’re still looking into FirstLight, our internet and phone provider, though they do seem to have invested in green technology for a data center in Maine.
Kevin Adams and Maria Planansky—Alfred University. College and Research Libraries Vol. 86 (No.4) 2025.
What have you been learning about your vendors with regard to the pillars of sustainability (environmentally sound [planet], socially equitable [people], and economically feasible [profit])?
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol
Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
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