Libraries and Positive Climate Action: Fiction, Imagination and Hope

Many libraries have discovered that working with writers and other artists is a powerful way to convey issues related to the climate crisis, but also to explore solutions and to seek more sustainable models of living and working. This session will reflect on the experience of The Climate Action Almanac, which works with writers around the world to encourage positive climate action. The initiative grew out of Arizona State University's Center for Science and Imagination, and has provided a model of integrating creativity and the power of storytelling with the reality of climate change across many different communities.

We will also reflect on the examples of libraries which have successfully developed initiatives that harness the potential of imagination to highlight climate issues and inspire climate action: Manchester Poetry Library’s exhibition Landscapes of Change and West Vancouver Memorial Library’s Climate Future programme, which includes a Climate Writer in Residence.

This event is part of a series hosted by The British Library focused on libraries and the climate crisis. The aim of the series is to bring together international library leaders to share their different responses to the climate emergency.