This year, Libraries Week went Green, with libraries from Jersey to John O’Groats hosting more than 280 environmental and sustainability activities,* from 2nd-8th October 2023.

On the day of launch, the campaign made it into Twitter/X’s trending list at number 8, boosting the campaign’s reach beyond the libraries sector.

The success of Green Libraries Week shows that going green isn’t about the size of the action you take, but that any action can make a difference for the environment.

Some of the events that took place were:

• Nature's Tiny Miracle by Britta Teckentrup introduces the wonder of bees to early years and KS1 children
• Bug hotel storytime and craft at Dittons Library
• A community fridge at Prestwich Library
• Meet the author - Louise Doughty – in-conversation event with bestselling author, Louise Doughty for a special in-conversation event at Leicester Central Library

You can see exactly what went on for green libraries week on our interactive map

It's not just public librarians leading the way, sector-wide libraries also got involved, medical, legal, and academic libraries hosted events to raise awareness and showcase how their libraries are taking action on the environment.

Green Libraries Week was inspired by CILIP’s Green Libraries Initiative that connects libraries across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to support them with Green Initiatives.

The first round of funding was completed earlier this year, and culminated in the inaugural Green Libraries Conference, where the idea of Green Libraries Week was born.

Green Libraries is now becoming the Green Libraries Campaign to build on the success of Green Libraries Week and grow the movement.

Please consider making a donation to make this possible, or if you represent an organisation that works with libraries and you’d like to boost your green credentials, then please consider becoming a sponsor.

Libraries Week is an annual showcase and celebration of the best that libraries have to offer, coordinated by CILIP, sponsored by Nielsen Book Data, and supported by Arts Council England, the Learning Council, the School Library Association, and the Reading Agency.

Each year Libraries Week takes on new a theme and explore the innovative and surprising things that libraries are doing to support their communities.

*these activities were sent to us, there are countless more libraries and librarians that were involved!