This post is part of a series of resources produced by our Student Interns in Fall 2024. The content does not necessarily reflect the official position of the organization.

It’s common knowledge that libraries increasingly provide technology access as much as they do access to books. Digital services, including e-books, internet access, and tech literacy training, are a growing equity need in libraries (Gonzalez, Kim, & Wang, 2022). Like print collections, however, computers, tablets and even chatbots don’t come from nowhere or disappear into nothing: their use and creation require resources, and create waste. Just as physical waste requires ecological solutions, repair is a method to reduce technological waste. How can libraries expand their digital collections while centering an ethic of local and planetary repair?

According to the Public Library Association’s 2023 Public Library Technology Survey report, nearly half of public libraries now lend internet hotspots, and 95% offer digital literacy training. In 2022, public libraries had an average of 31 public computers each, used an average of 9,230 times per year (Public Library Association, 2023). 

Sustainability planning is a growing priority in libraries. In 2019, the American Library Association resolved to adopt sustainability as a core value of librarianship (Dallas, 2019). Tackling tech sustainability through both public education and waste management should be front and center.

What is e-waste?

Digital or electronic waste (e-waste) most often describes discarded electronic devices (Geneva Environment Network, 2024), which include toxic components such as lead and mercury. 

Digital hardware is often deliberately built to be temporary through planned obsolescence and difficult to repair with proprietary parts and manuals, forcing consumers to regularly purchase new devices. 

The energy consumption and resource demands associated with tech use add to “one of the fastest growing waste streams worldwide,” according to sociologist Jennifer Gabrys, as approximately 20 to 40 million tons of e-waste are generated yearly (2015, p. 6). Since 2010, e-waste production has outpaced recycling capacity by a factor of 5 (Baldé et al, 2024). E-waste is predominantly exported from wealthier nations of the Global North for recycling and disposal in India, the Philippines, and other Global South nations (ibid). 

Digital services and technologies are essential, and we can develop more equitable and responsible systems for their creation and disposal. The right-to-repair movement advocates for requirements on companies to make parts (including recycled materials) and instructions for repair accessible to consumers, rather than hidden behind proprietary licenses (Gonzalez, Kim, & Wang, 2022). 

Libraries are already active in providing repair services and education (Canadian Federation of Library Associations, 2022). In Colorado, Boulder Public Library (BPL) developed a makerspace where people can electric scooters, small appliances and more, and it's only one library in a growing movement (Cottrell, 2017). Makerspaces and repair events offer services, but also education — another area where libraries are well-positioned to excel (Hauke, 2017)

What about AI? 

The rapid rise of AI has raised new questions surrounding digital literacy, particularly that of data consumption and e-waste. Some scholarship posits that AI chatbots can enhance library reference services and other resources (Adetayo, 2023; Hussain, 2023).

While there has been a significant amount of scholarship in other fields surrounding AI and energy, there is little consideration in library literature surrounding the energy impact of AI and librarianship’s role in sustainability. 

AI runs using vast amounts of data, stored in data centres that require energy to run and to cool. Experts predict that AI energy use could double from 2022 levels by 2026 (International Energy Agency, 2024). It’s also throwing tech companies emission reduction targets into jeopardy—despite Microsoft’s plans to go net zero by 2025, emissions continue to tick up, and the company’s president blames AI (Bloomberg, 2024). 

AI’s water consumption is also significant. Every 5 to 50 ChatGPT responses consumes 500 milliliters of water — up to 1000 times the rate of a single Google search. The global AI demand may be accountable for 4.2 — 6.6 billion cubic meters of water withdrawal in 2027 (Li et al, 2023). 

What is the role of libraries? 

Libraries that use digital technologies have a developing responsibility to address the environmental impact of e-waste and the ecological footprint of AI systems. While libraries may not play direct roles in the tech supply chains, they can make changes in both their own usage and in how the public is educated (Tariq & Khalid, 2023; Firdaus et al., 2014). 

Libraries are well positioned to educate patrons about the environmental and material impacts of digital technologies, as most libraries already offer programs that teach computer and digital skills. 

For instance, libraries are increasingly adopting policies and practices for “green computing,” or reducing the environmental harms of digital services (Latif et al., 2023; Mahmood, 2017; Khalid & Batool, 2020). Sustainability policies traditionally focus on energy efficiency, waste reduction, and community education.

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) offers a certification program for libraries to develop standardized sustainability action plans. 

SLI helps libraries develop sustainability policies, including how libraries manage waste. Through the SLI’s Sustainable Certification program, libraries can also gain recognition for their sustainability planning efforts. Libraries should consider digital waste reduction and education measures, and sustainability planning more broadly, to establish themselves as leaders in an area of growing relevance.  

Libraries can begin to educate patrons, particularly youth, who are increasingly introduced to AI without the critical skills needed to interact with it. They can help patrons understand sustainability issues related to AI by fostering discussions on what it means to actually use AI, and whether use cases are ethical and desirable for the public (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2020, p. 2). Libraries can play a crucial role in debunking the myths of environmentally neutral technology and foster a more sustainable digital culture.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) suggests that library professionals should understand the impact of AI as well as its intersections with privacy and ethical principles (IFLA, 2020, p. 3). Libraries can then help patrons develop digital literacy, ensuring focus on e-waste and the ecological footprint of AI, through workshops and programs. Libraries can additionally share zines or pamphlets that foster these conversations, such as Violet B. Fox’s zine “A Librarian Against AI; or, I Think AI Should Leave.” 

AI and other digital services are poised to change libraries. New sustainability challenges — from e-waste to AI resource use — arise with these technological changes, but libraries are well equipped to meet those challenges. Through championing sustainability and equity in planning and practice, libraries can encourage critical thinking about the environment and digital consumerism. By empowering our communities to be proactive when engaging with these growing technologies, libraries can act on local scales to change the tech landscape too. 

References

Adetayo, A.J. (2023), "Artificial intelligence chatbots in academic libraries: the rise of ChatGPT", Library Hi Tech News, 40(3), 18-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-01-2023-0007

Baldé, C.P., et al. (2024, November). The Global E-Waste Monitor 2024. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). https://www.itu.int/hub/publication/d-gen-e_waste-01-2024/. 

Business Wire. (2024, November 20). New hoopla Digital Survey Reveals User Experience Trends of Library Patrons. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241120592488/en/New-hoopla-Digital-Survey-Reveals-User-Experience-Trends-of-Library-Patrons

Crownhart, C. (2024, May 23). AI is an energy hog. This is what it means for climate change. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/05/23/1092777/ai-is-an-energy-hog-this-is-what-it-means-for-climate-change/

American Library Association (2019). Resolution for the adoption of sustainability as a core value of librarianship. https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/aboutala/content/Resolution%20for%20the%20Adoption%20of%20Sustainability%20as%20a%20Core%20Value%20of%20Librarianship-FINAL.pdf

Firdaus, S., Khanam, Z., & Khan, M. A. (2014). Global e-waste problem and obligation of libraries towards its awareness. International Journal of Digital Library Services, 4(2), 138-240.

Fox, V. B. (2024, November). A Librarian Against AI; or, I Think AI Should Leave. Violet B. Fox. https://violetbfox.info/against-ai/

Gabrys, J. (2015). Powering the digital: From energy ecologies to electronic environmentalism. In Maxwell, R., Raundalen, J., & Vestberg, N. L. (Eds.), Media and the ecological crisis. Routledge.

Geneva Environment Network. (2024, October 9). The growing environmental risks of e-waste. https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/the-growing-environmental-risks-of-e-waste/. 

Gonzales, A. L., Kim, Y., & Wang, L. H. (2023). Multisolving innovations: How digital equity, e‐waste, and right‐to‐repair policies can increase the supply of affordable computers. Policy & Internet, 15(2), 162–177. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.331

Hussain, A. (2023). Use of artificial intelligence in the library services: prospects and challenges. Library Hi Tech News, 40(2), 15-17.

IFLA Governing Board. (2020, September 7). IFLA statement on libraries and artificial intelligence. https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/faife/ifla_statement_on_libraries_and_artificial_intelligence.pdf. 

Li, P., Yang, J., Islam, M. A., & Ren, S. (2023). Making AI less “thirsty”: Uncovering and addressing the secret water footprint of AI models. arXiv preprint arXiv:2304.03271. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.03271. 

Rathi, A., & Bass, D. (2024, May 15). Microsoft’s AI push imperils climate goal as carbon emissions jump 30%. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-15/microsoft-s-ai-investment-imperils-climate-goal-as-emissions-jump-30

Sustainable Libraries Initiative. Policy Resources. https://www.sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/policy-resources

Tariq, M. S., & Khalid, A. (2023). Placing Green IT awareness and practices among universities’ librarians: A NAT perspective. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(5), 102770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102770

UNESCO. (2024). The United Nations world water development report 2024: Water for prosperity and peace. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000388948_eng. 

About the Authors

Tova Gaster recently graduated with a BA in environmental geography and history from the University of British Columbia. She’s a journalist and researcher, focusing on environmental and climate justice policy and advocacy. Having worked in youth programming, facilitation, and community libraries, she's excited about information access, third spaces, and liberatory education. 

Mia Jakobsen (she/they) is a fourth-year student at the University of Toronto, studying media theory, LGBTQ+ history, and digital humanities. Their research interests lie in exploring archival silences produced by cisheteronormativity and systems of power, with a newfound desire to reframe her work through creative praxis. Mia is aiming to study library and archival science, to protect intellectual freedom and marginalized stories.

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