The series Libraries in the Global Arena is a continuation of the work BC Library Association, the BC Libraries Cooperative and Public Library InterLINK started together in December 2019, at the day-long session Libraries and the Climate Crisis, at the SFU Wosk Centre for Dialogue (keynote: Shauna Sylvester, Director of the SFU Centre for Dialogue), and the talks and workshops offered at the 2021 BC Library Conference. Additional sessions in this series will continue to be announced.
This series of talks and discussions will focus on the role of libraries in effectively addressing the climate crisis while also acknowledging and mitigating the mental health issues that arise as a result of this growing global crisis. Speakers in the series will discuss the climate crisis from several viewpoints including through an Indigenous lens, and from a young adult perspective.
Co-produced by the British Columbia Library Association, BC Public Libraries InterLINK, and the BC Libraries Cooperative.
Recording Available:
Session 1:
Seth Klein, The Climate Crisis and Libraries: Mobilizing for the Climate emergency. This talk originally aired June 25, 2021. A recording is now available to view and share: https://youtu.be/DfyYmpEnAx8
Seth Klein is the author of A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency (ECW Press, 2020). Seth will introduce the framework he now employs with the Climate Emergency Unit, using the “4 Markers of Emergency Mode” – a framework for action that can be readily applied to local governments and institutions like libraries wanting to act on the emergency.
Session 2:
Rachel Malena-Chan, The Climate Emergency and Mental Wellness. This talk originally aired August 13, 2021. A recording is now available to view and share: https://youtu.be/fPmvtuYCBAY
Rachel Malena-Chan is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Eco-Anxious Stories, a project devoted to sharing creative expressions of eco-anxiety in order to make people feel less alone in their concerns about the climate crisis. Her research on climate engagement focuses on narrative theory as a bridge between what matters, what’s at stake, what we want, and what it will take.