The Task Force on the Environment (TFOE) was created in 1989 in the spirit of the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day (1990). TFOE is one of the issues-oriented task forces that comprise the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) of the American Library Association (ALA). TFOE includes librarians, publishers, vendors, and other interested parties from a wide variety of settings, from public libraries, school libraries, and college and university libraries, to government agencies, public interest groups, publishers, vendors and other information providers.

TFOE Objectives

• Promote awareness of environmental issues within ALA
• Unite librarians and information professionals for mutual benefit and support
• Provide TFOE members with opportunities for career development, skills enhancement, and leadership experiences
• Facilitate networking among peers and professional associates
• Provide services, programs, and publications that assist TFOE members and others in their careers, workplaces, homes, and in their communities

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Key Issues and Resources of Interest to TFOE:

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Discussion List

TFOE maintains an e-mail discussion list as a forum for librarians to discuss issues and resources related to the environment. To join the list, go to http://lists.ala.org/wws/subrequest/tfoe to subscribe.

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Join TFOE

Membership in the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) includes membership in the Task Force on the Environment. To join SRRT, complete and mail the membership form or join when you renew your ALA membership online. SRRT membership includes the SRRT Newsletter. Membership rates are: $12.00 (ALA-members); $20.00 (non-ALA members); free for student ALA members.

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TFOE at ALA Conferences

The annual ALA Conference provides an opportunity to focus on issues related to the environment. Speakers engage in discussions and exchange ideas on specific services, information products, publications, or programs. Visits to libraries near the conference site highlight special environmental services or collections in an informal library open-house forum. The annual ALA Midwinter Conference provides additional opportunities for networking and conducting business of ALA and TFOE.

Past TFOE programs and events at ALA Conferences and Midwinter Meetings have included:

• Earth, Wind & Fire @ Your Library: Changing Climate and Changing Lives (co-sponsored by TFOE and International Responsibilities Task Force) (Annual 2008)
• Greening of the Presses (Annual 2008)
• Nature Journaling and Library Program Ideas discussion (Midwinter 2008)
• Cup by Cup for a Greener ALA (Midwinter 2008)
• Get the Lead (Information) Out! (2005)
• EPA Region 5 Library Open House (2005)
• Bicycle rental service for conference participants (2005)
• Are You Missing Any Information? Speaking and Publishing Freely on the Environment (2004)
• Clear the Air and Water: Environmental selections for children, the public and academic libraries (2003)
• Promoting Public Health and Community Protection: Can Libraries Help? (2002)
• Sustaining Libraries for the Future: Energy Efficiency, Friendly Buildings, and Libraries' Sustainability” (2001)
• Earth Day in the 21st century: Environmental Activism, with Denis Hayes, founder of the first Earth Day in 1970 (2001)
• GIS as a Tool for Collaborative Spatial Decision Making (CSDM):
  Libraries Perspective (1999)
• Environmentally and Socially Responsible Business: Finding the Information to Make the Decision to Buy or Invest (1996)
• Poverty, Development and the Environment: Information Challenges for Libraries, with David Brower (1992)
• How Green is Your Library: Environmentalists at Work (1990)

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Contact TFOE

Coordinators: Jonathan Betz-Zall (jbetzzall@yahoo.com) and Fred Stoss (fstoss@buffalo.edu)
SRRT Membership Chair: Fred Stoss (fstoss@buffalo.edu)
Editor of Electronic Green Journal: Maria A. Jankowska (majanko@uidaho.edu)
Website manager: Mary Feeney (feeneym@u.library.arizona.edu)

Past Coordinators:
Maria A. Jankowska (majanko@uidaho.edu)
Irwin Weintraub (irwinw@brooklyn.cuny.edu)
Terry Link
Fred Stoss
Jonathan Betz-Zall

JEH&FWS 6-24-99
Modified 09/12/08 by Mary Feeney (feeneym@u.library.arizona.edu)

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