NCAAL

It is critical that libraries not only survive but that they thrive. Embracing triple bottom line sustainability helps better weave the library into the fabric of the community, campus, or parent organization. It also moves the discussion of sustainability beyond just the environment to also encompass financial and social (e.g. workforce, community) sustainability.

Audience engagement will be achieved with real-world table-top discussions interspersed throughout. Participants will leave armed with three things to improve organizational survivability/sustainability. Participants will receive a copy of Shaffer's 12 steps, as well as leave with their three sustainable goals for their library. Shaffer embarked on this study as there was no similar research existing in the library science field, despite it being crucial to the long term survival of libraries. The findings are the result of his doctoral dissertation research, and are being used in a how-to book, to be published by Libraries Unlimited in early 2018 titled Creating the Sustainable Public Library: The Triple Bottom Line Approach.