Library permaculture (III)
Libraries and the principles of permaculture (I)
[This post is the third in a series where I intend to explore the application of permaculture principles — specifically, those of social permaculture — in libraries and related spaces, such as documentation centers, archives, or museums. Each post, part of a broader work that will soon be published academically, aims to briefly cover both theoretical ideas and potential practical applications of social permaculture principles. It seeks to provide information on how solid elements of nature (biomimicry) can be incorporated into the design of library systems. The ultimate goal is to achieve sustained and sustainable changes within and from knowledge and memory management spaces].
In the previous posts, the ideas of permaculture and social permaculture were reviewed, and a possible interaction was outlined between the latter and the disciplines of knowledge and memory management. In the present post, a review will be carried out of each of the twelve principles of permaculture and, very briefly, potential connections with libraries, archives and museums will be analyzed.
Principle 1. Observe and interact
In the field of knowledge and memory management disciplines (librarianship, archival science, museology…), observing and interacting with the community is fundamental to creating relevant, coherent, diverse, and inclusive spaces and services. In fact, it is one of the first mandatory stages in any strategic planning process.
(A stage that, however, is often ignored, overlooked or, with any luck, just poorly executed, leading, for example, to the implementation of library services that are not needed or spaces that cannot survive in a given community or territory. Thus are born the “white elephants” of the library world: large computer rooms in places without access to Internet or electric service, Latin American collections in Spanish in places where indigenous languages are the majority, and a long and varied “etcetera”).
Through the application of this principle, essential background information can be obtained about the needs, possibilities, and preferences of the community; about their origins, cultural patterns, and learning styles; or about their searches, interests, and expressions. Such an application, moreover, can extend far beyond interactions with the user community: it can, for example, encompass social and technological trends at a general level, thus ensuring that knowledge and memory management spaces evolve in harmony with their users and the external environment.
Principle 2. Catch and store energy
For knowledge and memory management spaces, capturing and storing energy is not only directly related to the physical realm (architectural structure of libraries, archives and museums, use of solar panels, etc.). It also has to do with the intellectual and community spheres.
As reservoirs of knowledge and creativity, these spaces capture “intellectual / cultural / creative energy” through events, workshops, publications and collaborative projects, and store and organize it for later use — as an incubator of innovative ideas or, following the indigenous perspective, as a spring from which the community drinks to nurture its future ideas and proposals.
And in this aspect, it is necessary not to lose sight of all kinds of “sustainable practices” for managing such cultural energy: a point on which numerous parallels can be drawn with the use of renewable energy sources and efficient technologies that contribute to the conservation of environmental energy. That includes ethical practices, control of cultural extractivism, and respect for languages, beliefs and identities.
Principle 3. Obtain a yield
“Yield” is a word that, in the capitalist and extractivist logic, is associated with exploitation and economic gain. However, from a permaculture point of view, “yield” is the output of any system: a harvest, for example, in an agricultural system, or a book in a publishing system.
Knowledge and memory management spaces can obtain yields, beyond the merely economic, by providing intangible and tangible benefits to the community. There are many products, resources, educational materials, and skills development programs that can contribute to individual learning, collective critical development, community building and support processes of change and struggle; in these cases, the returns are understood as global “gains” at a socio-cultural and, why not, economic and political level.
Ultimately, this principle of permaculture emphasizes knowing how to recognize the benefits obtained from the services and activities developed from libraries, archives, museums, and related spaces.
Principle 4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
Knowledge and memory management spaces can apply self-regulation by efficiently managing the resources at their disposal and actively seeking feedback from the community.
This implies adapting services according to the requirements and contributions of users, creating libraries, archives and museums that change, evolve, and adapt according to the needs and, above all, the possibilities of the community and its territory. These spaces cease to be rigid, limited and limiting (and even colonized and colonizing), and become flexible, malleable elements, fully responsive to the changing circumstances of any human society. They seek to adapt their structures to the community, and not the other way around — which is usually the most common (and evidences a series of hierarchies, authorities, and unhealthy centralisms).
They can thus create environments that respond dynamically to diverse characteristics and concerns, ensuring that libraries, archives, and museums are relevant and pertinent spaces.
Principle 5. Use and value renewable resources and services.
Prioritizing renewable resources and services is fundamental to permacultural practices. The principle can be translated into several lines of action in the field of knowledge and memory management disciplines.
The best-known line is to use renewable energy sources and sustainable materials. In this last aspect, it should be considered that most of the materials used in the construction of traditional library buildings are resources that have nothing “green” about them: iron beams from open-pit mines, cement from deforested areas, and a long “etcetera” that is well researched and very little publicized. Perhaps the most sustainable libraries in this respect are those made of cane walls from the Peruvian coast or adobe from Bolivia: building structures that, in the end, are even compostable.
The adoption of digital technologies, which supposedly reduce the demand for physical resources (e.g., paper materials) can be a double-edged sword: the amount of resources and energy used to maintain such technologies and products, and the waste generated, are elements that are generally not taken into consideration in these contexts.
The most promising line of action is to offer services and activities that promote sustainability, adding value to both the community and the environment. Offering programs on sustainable living and environmental education allows users to adopt sustainable practices, while libraries become advocates of responsible consumption and waste reduction, contributing to a socially sustainable community.
Principle 6. Produce no waste
Minimizing environmental impact is fundamental to the permacultural principle of no waste. In its most obvious aspect, knowledge and memory management spaces can achieve this by implementing strong recycling programs, encouraging the use of reusable materials, and fostering a culture of minimalism and degrowth.
In a less obvious but more sustainable long-term aspect, libraries, archives, and museums can support, through their spaces, resources and services, community initiatives such as book exchanges, tool-borrowing “libraries” or repair and reuse programs, fostering a culture of sharing and reuse of resources, discouraging rampant consumerism, and promoting responsible consumption, thus contributing to socially sustainable living practices.
