Green (Environmentalist) Approaches to University Libraries: A Research Across Turkey

Abstract

This study was carried out in order to identify green (environmentally friendly) practices in university libraries in both institutional and individual contexts. Within the scope of this research, descriptive method was used, and also two questionnaires were used as data collection tools from library directors and librarians. Within the frame of the study, online questionnaire was sent to 165 directors and 1614 librarians working in 165 university libraries (out of 182 in total) in Turkey. 45 directors and 341 librarians responded to the survey. The directors’ survey has six main sections including sustainable environment, water saving, energy saving, sustainable resources and materials, indoor air quality, innovation in design and implementation, and aims to collect information on an institutional basis. The librarian survey consists of three main parts which are demographic information, environmental awareness and attitude in daily life, and green libraries. The obtained data were analyzed by IBM Statistics SPSS 23.0 software package. In the study, it was found out that even though university libraries in Turkey fulfill some criteria such as proximity to public transportation, use of alternative options in transportation and water-efficient plumbing, monitoring water use, turning off electrical appliances when not in use, use of double glazed windows, taking precautions against paper waste with recycling or donation of printed resources, there are still deficiencies. Also, differences between universities have been identified in terms of green approaches /implementations and some libraries such as Atılım, Bilkent, Başkent and Yaşar University libraries have been observed to be greener than others within sustainable environment, water and energy saving, sustainable materials-resources, indoor air quality and design and application innovations. Although librarians have a low level of perception and awareness in green libraries and environmental sustainability issues, they have positive opinions about the initiatives promoting education and awareness.