(28 Aug 2023) The Seoul Metropolitan Library has received a Green Library Award from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).
The library on Aug. 27 said it placed third in this year’s awards on Aug. 22 for its Eco Project in Seoul Metropolitan Library for SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) at the 88th IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The winner was West Vancouver Memorial Library in West Vancouver, Canada, and the runner-up Biblioteca Civica Villa Valle in Valdagno, Italy.
The Seoul library submitted several projects to IFLA, with the one attracting the most interest being Book Reading Seoul Plaza. As the world’s first outdoor public library, the event at Seoul Plaza featured about 5,000 books in a cultural experience allowing people to read next to nature.
The campaign “Libraries Are Cool: Turn Off and Go To the Library!” (unofficial translation) was also honored. Promoting awareness of the environment, it sought to encourage more visits to libraries during periods of intense heat or cold to reduce heating and cooling costs and carbon emissions from homes.
IFLA also cited the Seoul library’s recycling of old banners outside its walls into bags patrons can use when borrowing books under its Zero Waste Seoul” policy of taking the lead in recycling and limiting the use of disposable items.
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