On the way to work today a man was putting out unwanted bits and pieces on the street. I spotted this chair and he gave it to me. It is currently sitting in my office. It looks very nice. I also belong to Freecycle. The concept is that you list unwanted items and people let you know if they are interested and they come and pick them up. It is grassroots and you will be amazed by what people want.

Whilst at ALIAAccess I heard Katie Hannan convenor of the ALIA Sustainable Libraries group talk passionately about some of the things that we are librarians/libraries can do to lessen our carbon footprint and impact on the environment. The group has put together a Green Guide.

I am pleased to say that here we:

1. co-mingle and recycling bins for students & staff
2. minimise printing & printers
3. encourage people in rooms with natural light to leave lights off
4. encourage people to ride bikes to work
5. offer/give unwanted equipment to other organisations
6. have light sensors to turn lights on/off
7. encourage people to turn off appliances at the power point on weekends and when away from the office plus many other initiatives

We are fortunate to have some very passionate "greenies" on staff who keep us in line. The latest issue of Incite magazine features great stories on how libraries are being green and features an article by one of the staff Heather Coutts about carbon accounting.

Think green.