In Uşak, western Türkiye, the agro-library opened in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been included in the top five candidates for the 2024 International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Green Library Award.
Reorganized as an "agro-library" two years ago and a recipient of the Social Innovation Award from the UNDP, the Banaz District Public Library integrates theory with practice to support environmentally friendly agriculture, providing services toward a sustainable green library model.
The agro-library model contributes to cultural services and meets local development needs by supporting sustainable development goals.
The library features a section dedicated to heirloom seeds, where students visiting the library can engage in agricultural activities. Students grow vegetables and fruits from seeds in the garden area of the library. They are also given seeds on the condition of returning seeds produced from heirloom stock. The library garden includes a bug hotel, a compost system for producing organic fertilizer from fruit waste and a small greenhouse.
Shortlisted for award
The library under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has been nominated for the "IFLA Green Library Award," which recognizes contributions to green library projects and libraries' contributions to sustainable development goals, placing among the top five countries nominated.
The Banaz District Public Library ranks among libraries from China, Ireland, Slovenia and Ukraine, among many other green libraries and projects worldwide.
The library's agricultural-focused green library model, with its plant beds, seed library, compost bin, rainwater harvesting, bug hotel and the motto "from a consuming society to a producing society" has been praised by an international jury.
The winners of the IFLA Green Library Award will be announced in October.
Sabri Ceylan, the director of culture and tourism in Uşak, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the Banaz District Public Library has been serving the district for years and operating as an agro-library since 2022.
Ceylan expressed their happiness at receiving positive feedback for their project, saying: "We applied to the IFLA for the concept of sustainable green libraries. We are the first library in Türkiye to apply in this field in collaboration with our ministry. We prepared a strong dossier for this application with our ministry and general directorate. In this dossier, we explained what the green library, sustainable librarianship and this initial work entailed. We provided information on the number of users and their feedback on green libraries and sustainable librarianship. As a result, we were among the top five libraries in IFLA's concept of green sustainable libraries."
Ceylan noted that many activities are carried out in the library, explaining: "Our library introduces a new format to librarianship with a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach, including plant beds, heirloom seeds, seedboxes, bug hotels, compost machines and rainwater harvesting."
Expressing their happiness at being on the shortlist, Ceylan emphasized the importance of achieving a first in agro-green libraries in Türkiye, saying: "We are experiencing the joy of achieving a first."