On May 9, 2023, members from UNH Library leadership, faculty, and staff were recognized under multiple award categories at the UNH Sustainability Awards Ceremony.
The Sustainability Awards celebrates and spotlights faculty, staff, and students doing important sustainability research, curriculum development and teaching, campus initiatives and culture development, and external engagement work across and beyond the university. UNH Library was the recipient of three nominations and two awards.
UNH Sustainability has stated that these awards, “raise the visibility of these activities and achievements to help build a deep culture of sustainability that permeates all facets of our institution and community and how we work.”
These awards honor the effort given to following the designs of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which, “advance human dignity for all people and ecological integrity in all places, and to emphasize the inextricable links between human dignity, ecological health, participatory democracy, and intergenerational equity.”
The first UNH Library award recipient was Associate Professor, Business and Economics librarian Wendy Pothier, whose faculty award was under the curriculum category. Wendy stated she, “worked closely with the Paul College FIRE (First-Year Innovation and Research Experience) program to create a research guide that helped the first-year business students learn about the SDGs and incorporate them as they researched their business plans this year.”
Pothier also created a comprehensive sustainability resource guide for Paul College staff and faculty to use in their curriculum along with support materials for their teaching. Pothier noted, “Through this, we added several key materials to the UNH Library collection that support business research towards a more sustainable future.”
While her award-winning work was focused in UNH curriculum, her work reaches beyond the university. Pothier said, “I had the opportunity to share this work with the International EntreLib (Entrepreneurship and Libraries) conference as an example of ways that libraries can support the social entrepreneurship ecosystem and incorporate the SDGs into our work as librarians.”
The UNH Library Furniture Repurposing Project team won a sustainability award under the campus culture and operations within the staff category. The members involved included Assistant Dean for Library Administration Tracey Lauder, Senior Administrative Assistant for Library Administration Jennifer Daly, Information Desk Manager Donald Dow, Evening Library Services Specialist Zach Lewis, and Director of Athletics Development Kevin Connolly.
The UNH Library Furniture Repurposing Project team was spearheaded by Tracey Lauder. In collaboration with local business NorthShore Refinishing, the library contributed to our, “circular economy and reduction in waste by repurposing and reinvesting in the current furniture.” 187 chairs, 26 carrels, and $40,000 were saved in this sustainable project. Tracey Lauder remarked that, “it was a real team effort, and I am grateful that UNH is so committed to sustainability.” Lauder added she was, “happy we were able to contribute to their success in this endeavor.”
The UNH Library Digital Services Program members were also recognized as Sustainability Champions through their nominations. This program includes Scholarly Communication Librarian Eleta Exline, Institutional Repository Coordinator Nikki Codgill, and Digital Collections Coordinator Sarah Stinson. They were nominated for their continued effort to support the development of the library's Digital Collections. Exline commented, "Our Digital Services teams works to provide unrestricted access to local cultural heritage and research collections. Anyone with an internet connection can use these collections without having to visit in person or schedule an appointment. It was great to be nominated for this contribution to sustainable practices at UNH.”
The UNH Library is committed to progressing forward in all ways possible to further the goals of the university.
