“As respected community and resource centers, libraries are well positioned to mobilize citizens to learn about climate change and take action - at home, in our towns and cities and around the world. Together we can future-proof and adapt. At this unique turning point in history, we are the generation to rescue our collective future by dismantling systemic oppressions, reversing overconsumption, creating protective and forward-thinking policies, and enabling practices that put people and planet first and prioritize a just energy transition. 

In the face of dire climate change events, Resilient Communities: Libraries Responding to Climate Change showcases the ever-flexible and nimble role of library workers. And there is so much to showcase! Across the country, libraries and other institutions are finding their allies, banding together, and making ripples of change. In the face of chaos and uncertainty, they are teaching climate science, self-regulation practices, dialogue and deliberation skills, kindness for one another and the Earth. In this guide, we share just a sliver of the exciting work that is already in motion. 

We invite you and your library to join us as change-makers in this work. Because the fact is, we cannot return to business as usual. A new story is unfolding, a shift in narrative from hierarchy to complexity, interdependence and interbeing. In this time of intersecting crises—the climate change emergency, systemic racism, COVID-19 - we must pivot, transform, stretch, reflect, listen, demand, act. We need to act as if our lives depend on it, because they do.” (p.3)