giddy up.

Rider University is keeping up its end of the bargain in the construction of their new environmentally-friendly dormitory. Belgian plow horses are being used to clear four acres of land in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Read all about it in the Trenton Times!

How could you not want to read an article that begins with this:

“Wood chips fly. Chain saw buzzes. Stubby Warmbold doesn’t flinch.”

just like the olden days.

earth day — a classy affair.

here’s a great big

thank you!!!

to all who helped make

earth day ‘08

a smashing success!

• eight 32-gallon tubs of clothing were collected and sent to a community in need in Haiti
• four 32-gallon tubs of plastic bottles were collected and sent to be recycled
• three 32-gallon tubs of plastic grocery bags were collected and sent to be recycled

DUE TO THE REMARKABLY LARGE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS, we ran out of reusable bag giveaways within the first half hour! Unfortunately, we do not have any extra. However, i was able to round up 75 extra water bottles for those of you who signed the IOU sheet. If anyone signed up for a reusable bag and didn’t already get a water bottle, I would be happy to give you a bottle instead when you stop by the library (see below for pick-up times).

The winners of the raffle for those informative and hilarious green books are….[drum roll please]

• Makeda Hampton
• Cliff Goldberg
• Dan Richards
• Elizabeth Stuck
• Madison James
• Robin Lucas
• Jacob Mercer-Pontier
• Katie Skovira
• Chris Casciello
• Sara Ward

*** TO PICK UP YOUR PRIZES AND WATER BOTTLES, please stop by Talbott Library from 1:30-10 on Wed, 8:30-5 on Thu, 3-10 on Sun, 1:30-10 on Mon, or 8:30-5 Tue-Thu (May 6-8)****

diana and mike

emily and alicia signing poster for “why artists should be green”

ben and nick and their sweet organic t-shirts

jacob and me working the crowds (and the camera)

chris, emily, and vince being very helpful

katie does her part

megan standing amidst the amazing donations

my world-class poster for earth day

all photos from earth day ‘08 can be found at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024116&l=e7bef&id=69100976

a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….

earth day ‘08

except it’s not a long time ago. it’s

next tuesday, april 22nd

from 11-3PM on the

Great Plains.

oh boy, a contest!

 

Rider Recycles! Poster Contest

Increasing awareness about recycling on campus

 

Artwork will be judged by the following criteria:

1. Clear message conveyed by the text and artwork
2. Recycling theme is addressed
3. Creativity, originality and artistic quality
4. Visual clarity

Awards
1st place winner awarded $500.
2nd place winner awarded $250.
3rd place winner awarded $100.

Submission Deadline is April 7

for further info, go to: Rider Recycles! Poster Contest

 

Paperwaste debuts at VALE Conference

On January 9, 2008, we trekked to Pisquataway, NJ [which is not spelled "Piscataway," as I originally thought] to participate in the poster session at the VALE (Virtual Academic Library Environment) Conference at Rutgers University. Our poster was entitled: Waste Not, Want Not: Partnering for Resource Waste Reduction at Rider University Libraries.

(the infamous “poster.”)

We felt that the session was met with a great deal of positive feedback. Pat Dawson says, “The subject of the poster session seemed to hit hot buttons, that many other libraries are in the same boat, and folks expressed interest in our efforts.” Many schools are facing the same issues involving the abuse of free printing and the inevitable amount of wonton waste

(not this kind of wonton).

that accompanies it, as well as suspicion as to whether or not the paper is actually being recycled. Many people asked for simple changes they could implement that would at least be a start in the right direction, and we told them about the efforts our staff was making in the office (reusing bibliographic print-outs, cutting scrap paper into smaller pieces to keep next to the computers, etc.) and encouraging students to be responsible and aware of their paper usage. Most participants urged us to keep pushing for a double-sided printer and copier as it has helped alleviate a lot of their problems in this area.

Sustainability Coordination Manager Diana Kayes agreed that the poster session was a very positive experience. Kayes says, “It put the word out about Rider and offered other schools ideas for what they could be doing, no matter how the small the step.”

VALE website: http://www.valenj.org/
VALE Users Conference blog: http://valenews.wordpress.com/
–> check out “The Library in the Academic Enterprise: Toward a Sustainable Software Ecosystem.”

a bit of fantastic.

I was recently made aware that Moore Library sends medical journals to aid doctors and nurses at work in Iraq. Recycling and helping the troops–definitely two awesome birds with one stone.

Here is an excerpt of the letter from Mark W. Burnett, M.D. from Camp Taji, Iraq:

The combination of the Hussein regime, pre-war sanctions and the current turmoil in Iraq has made it very difficult for physicians and dentists to stay even reasonably current on medical developments. When I have dropped off your donated books and journals I have been met with sheer amazement at how current the literature is–I wish that you all could be there to share these moments with me. I have found the medical professionals to be some of the most apolitical people I have met in Iraq–they really are role models for the society at large. I will never forget their courage as they often risk their lives just to hold meetings with coalition forces.

I love the simplicity of this program. No politics, no axes to grind, no hidden motives–just colleagues helping colleagues. I know that we all have many people asking for our help nowadays–I just appreciate the fact that you took the time to box up your books or journals and send them “over here.”

Medical and nursing books and journals are sent through a Global Village program to English-speaking clinicians. (Thanks to Pat Dawson at Moore Library for sending this information our way!)

Check out the article in Medscape for further information on these donations. (Since the website requires a password, I have included it below.)

Strides in Sustainability in the curriculum at Rider

From an email we received today from Pat at Moore Library, regarding upcoming faculty workshop [January 17]:

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the way our society is consuming the earth’s natural resources is not sustainable. This ecological crisis has scientific, social, political, and economic repercussions. It is our responsibility as an institution of higher education to educate our students about the many dimensions of the environmental changes at hand. In this 90-minute workshop, we will give some basic background about global change, discuss ongoing institutional changes in response to the climate challenge, and provide participants with existing models for integrating sustainability into coursework and co-curricular projects across the University.

The RU Libraries have been getting a lot of help from the sustainability steering committee to increase awareness about wasting paper and other resources, and we now have a library blog and posters at Talbott and Moore Libraries–thanks to Mike Gray and Diana Petras–that will make students think before printing and discarding paper from the printers! Laura Hyatt, Biology faculty, has used some of the statistics of wasted paper in one of her classes in the form of an exam question, and Diana Kayes, part-time Sustainability Coordinator and Rider student, has been working with me to create additional posters. I will be at the Vale Conference in January with a poster advertising the RU Libraries’ ideas on reducing wasted resources and the partnerships involved in this project. Hopefully next semester and in the future we will start to reduce all of the paper, toner, cartridges, etc. used in the two libraries!

going green.

A focus on sustainability and energy has proliferated throughout college and university campuses from Appalachia to California. From recycling competitions to purchasing renewable energy, these programs can vary greatly in scope but are all focused on these two main objectives: to reduce the consumption of natural resources and to minimize the campus’ environmental “footprint.”

–> read more about Rider’s efforts to move in a greener direction.