Sustainable development and environmental questions are currentsocial issues. Public libraries are supposed to ensure globalchanges and according to Agenda 21 every organisation aresupposed to work towards a sustainable climate. The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to discuss how the conceptsustainable development is mentioned in public library plans, andanalyze the role libraries take in terms of environmentalquestions and sustainable development. The following questionswere discussed: ”Does the concept sustainable developmentoccur in the public library plans and in that case to whatextent?” ”Which similarities and differences can be found in how the concepts of environmental issues and sustainabledevelopment are addressed in the library plans?” A combined quantative and qualitative content analysis was made based on public library policies, using Kathryn Millersconcepts envionmental leader and environmental educator. The result shows that most of the libraries mention sustainable development as a general concept, often as a part of a municipal vision rather than that of a goal of the library. The results also shows that the public libraries that mention ecological sustainable development takes an environmental leadership role rather than aenvironmental educator role. The expressions related to the library as an environmental educator tends to be more substantial than the expressions related to the environmentalleader role. However, it is possible that these expressions of sustainable development is written in a rhetorical sense in away to try to market the library as an organization that contributes to sustainable development.

Introduction. This thesis focuses on the concept of green libraries with the aim to understand how the public library can promote climate action. Since green libraries for long have been absent in Sweden, the study’s objective is to examine green libraries in an international context to address what features four German public libraries show that green libraries can fulfill; and in a national context to investigate how green libraries can apply to the Swedish public library’s role in society. Method. Semi-structured interviews with librarians at four German green libraries were conducted. The interviews were recorded, and the transcripts was analyzed thematically. In addition to the interviews, the material also consists of documents of different genres used to analyze the Swedish perspective. Analysis. The analytical framework uses a theoretical model specially designed to be used in the analysis, called the re-intermediary-model. The model demonstrates the potential of the public library as a social infrastructure in addressing societal issues, such as the issue of climate change. The analysis maps the empirical material and previous research about green libraries to show which library features it fits into. Additionally, the mapped empirical material helps identify the opportunities for green libraries in Sweden. Results. The analysis identifies several areas of interest. The results show that the German green libraries fit into the features of the theoretical model. The libraries’ green activities and services function as local meeting places; they inspire users to act with more environmental awareness; green libraries educate about climate change and ways to promote climate action in daily life; and they offer creative spaces to let the users experience sustainability. The results also show that there are many opportunities for green libraries to be applied in Sweden. Many aspects of green libraries and climate action conform to the Swedish Library Act, foremost the legislation requiring municipalities and county councils to adopt library plans which enables politicians to include climate strategies in the plans and public libraries in local climate strategies. Swedish libraries could devote themselves to conveying knowledge and information about climate change in several ways, for example through urban gardening, media and information literacy, repair cafés and lectures. Conclusion. Findings reveal that the public library can support civic abilities to participate in climate action. The view of the public library as a space for living and not only a place of books enables the library to convey information and knowledge through various activities and services. The public library’s local connection and inclusive target group give capacity to bring people closer to complex information about climate change, which could benefit climate action and promote community resilience. The thesis also show that Swedish public libraries have a potential site for addressing the issue of climate change and promote climate action.  This is a two-year master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.