Foursquare users should be sure to check in to the Library each time they visit – our Mayor wins a free Library water bottle!
So far, we’ve had 87 check in a total of 570 times. Our goal is to be more popular than the DeNaples Center, where 134 people have checked in 936 times.
Keep an eye out for other Foursquare specials on campus – they’re coming soon!
There is now a filtered water dispenser in the new 24 hours space. The first button on the right dispenses room temperature water. Press the second button for cold. To get hot, you need to press the key icon before pressing the button on the left. This feature prevents accidentally discharging hot water.
Coming soon: 100 BPA-Free reusable water bottles which feature the University of Scranton “S” and a green leafy “W” for the Weinberg Memorial Library
This year the library will be hosting its first ever Environmental Art Show. The purpose of the art show is to promote sustainability and to raise awareness about environmental issues. The Library Green Team is asking any interested students, staff, or faculty to submit their environmentally themed art.
All types of environmentally themed art are welcome, this includes photography, painting, sculpting, graphic design, altered images, fashion, film art, and any other areas of creativity. Submissions must be environmentally themed. Examples of environmentally themed art include nature scenes, animals, humanity’s effect on the environment, and creative messages about sustainable issues. Any questions about specific themes or ideas could be directed to george.aulisio@scranton.edu. There is no limit on submissions. However, not all submissions will necessarily be displayed.
Submissions are asked to be ready for display (within reason) This means, for example, that photographs and paintings are to be matted or framed, TVs and additional devices for film art will be provided by the library, any artist who has special display needs should contact George Aulisio. The Environmental Art Show will be held in the Heritage room of the library and will coincide with the University’s celebration of Earth week. All artwork will be returned by the end of the semester.
For any additional questions please contact george.aulisio@scranton.edu.
The next time you walk into the WML you might be in for a little surprise. We now have videos on the library’s TVs. The videos, created by Professor Mary Beth Holmes’s TV Production classes, are short Public Service Announcements which help to raise awareness of the issue of Sustainability. All videos were filmed in the Weinberg Memorial Library by University of Scranton students.
The library is dedicated to sustainability and being as environmentally conscious as possible. The Library Green Team had been looking for new and creative ways to educate students on the importance of conserving paper, recycling properly, and purchasing a travel mug and water bottle instead of buying disposable cups and plastic. Luckily for the library the University has talented students.
The six videos that display on the library’s four TVs each send a unique message about sustainable issues in our library. In addition, these high quality and informative videos are able to convey the message of sustainability without making a sound… all of the videos are silent in order to not disturb those studying in the library.
The library sends special thanks to the twelve students who helped to create these videos, they are:
Laura Bonawits, Stephanie Conboy, Cory Burrell, Jonathan Oliveto, Catherine Fischer, Beth Posocco, Alycia McCarthy, Matthew Santanastaso, Dana O’Donnell, Lauren Fuller, Matthew O’Handley, and Alonso Villagomez Stock.
Saturday morning members of the Weinberg’s Green Team attended a walk and orientation along the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority’s Heritage Trail, starting at the River Walk section off of Olive Street. The weather was perfect–sunny but cool. We learned about the construction of the trail and the history of the city and what previously stood on spots along the river. Our guide, Ashlyn Gomez, director of community engagement at LHVA, showed pictures of specific landmarks and bridges, and also pointed out trees and plants along the walk. One highlight was the view of the train terminal on Lackawanna Ave.
We traveled further along the trail, into South Side, behind the sports complex and shopping center. The walk provided an interesting perspective on the city, one that we don’t often get to see but should take full advantage of. It was nice to encounter others running and walking their dogs. Bikers are also welcome on the trail, but motorized vehicles are not.
A writer from the Scranton Times joined us as well! You can check out their write up and some pictures from yesterday’s paper.
The Green Team looks forward to utilizing the trail and sharing it with others as well. I think we are all enthused by the prospects that the day provided.
If you have any old and used fabric that you are looking to get rid of…
The Friends of the Poor is sponsoring a Recyclable Fabric Drive.
They are accepting old, used, torn, stained, and tattered fabric items, which include: Clothings, Shoes, Boots, Outerwear, Sheets, Blankets, Pillows, Towels, Curtains, Tablecloths, Bedspreads, Back-packs, Purses, Belts, Socks, Hates, Gloves, Stuffed animals, Area rugs, etc..
The Drop off location is at:
Our Lady of Peace Parking Lot
University Ave (Marywood U. Campus)
Scranton, PA
Come by on:
Thursday November 4, from 8am to 5pm
Friday, November 5, from 8am to 5pm
Satuday, November 6, from 8am to 5pm
Sunday, November 7, from Noon to 3pm
The Weinberg Library’s Green Team met yesterday to talk over some new ideas and projects. Here’s a taste of what we have in store for the next few months:
Many thanks to all of the students, faculty, and staff who have been giving us suggestions on making the Library greener!
Too often, we see students printing out page after page of PowerPoint lecture slides, with just a few words on each page. Why not save money AND save paper by printing multiple slides per page?
The Weinberg Library Green Team will be posting these fliers (printed on reused paper, naturally) around our computer labs to remind all of our students and patrons to be conscious of how much they’re using. If you have any trouble with mutiple-slide printing, just ask for help at the Reference Desk!
The Weinberg Memorial Library has been working hard lately to make sure that our building is as sustainable as possible. We set up a green team, we’ve upgraded our lights with more energy-efficient bulbs, and we’re really pushing recycling.
But the Library faculty and staff have also been chatting lately about the best ways that we can go green in our personal lives. Many of us have started carrying reusable water bottles and coffee mugs instead of using disposable cups. Some of us have switched to buying recycled paper towels and napkins for our homes. The more you think about going green, though, the more confusing it can get. A lot of products these days advertise themselves as green, but which ones are really best for the environment?
Enter GoodGuide, a website created by a University of California-Berkeley professor of environmental policy that rates commonly used products on how environmentally friendly and healthy they are. GoodGuide uses a pretty intense methodology to examine each product, from its contents to the impact of its manufacturing processes. But they also translate that information into scores that are easy for consumers to understand, and their website makes it easy to compare product types across brands. (For example, I compared brands of contact solution – only to find out that the product I’ve been using for years got one of the worst rankings!)
GoodGuide is a “B Corporation,” which means that it’s a for-profit company that has made a public commitment to environmentalism and social justice. The company makes money by selling its analysis results back to manufacturers or retailers who want to use it for market research or to improve their products (see this recent Newsweek article on GoodGuide’s business strategy). So their business depends on the accuracy of their information, which makes me feel a little more comfortable trusting their website. I also like that if you want more information about a product, you can drill down to see how GoodGuide assigned its score and get details on how the ingredients and life cycle assessment were judged. And of course I’m excited to try GoodGuide’s free iPhone app – you can scan barcodes of products to get environmental ratings on the go, while you’re shopping.
So take a second to search for some of your favorite brands – you might find that a greener option is just another step down the grocery aisle!
Starting today, our Physical Plant staff will be working in the Library stacks, replacing our current lighting fixtures with more energy efficient fixtures and bulbs.
We’re looking forward to seeing how much energy we’ll save with these new lights!
