Presented at LILAC 2022

1. Tropical rainforest, Thailand. Courtesy of Vyacheslav Argenberg
Critical Sustainability Research: an example
from UAL Libraries' Sustainability Toolkit
LILAC Conference 2022

2. Welcome
oJulia Flood, Assistant Academic Support
Librarian, University of the Arts London,
Central Saint Martins.
oBillie Coxhead, Materials & Products Co-
ordinator, University of the Arts London,
Central Saint Martins & London College
of Fashion.
Image by Alys Tomlinson

3. • Part 1 : Introducing our library toolkit as a
tool for framing research into
sustainability.
• Part 2 : Workshop
• Activity 1 : Material narratives journey
mapping.
• Activity 2 : Framing your research
using the 3 Pillar framework.
• Part 3 : Toolkit discussion.
Session outline
Untitled, Megan Morrish, BA Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins

4. Part 1 : UAL Libraries' Sustainability Toolkit
University of the Arts, London
• 18,000 students
• 6 colleges and libraries
• 2 Materials Collections
UAL Climate Emergency Commitment
(2019-2022): ‘Making Sustainability a
Required Part of the Student Learning
Experience’.
Central Saint Martins, one of the six UAL colleges. Image by John Sturrock.

5. Sustainability-focused groups, centres and courses
Groups
UAL Climate Emergency Network
Archives, Museums and Special Collections Climate Group
Library and Student Services Sustainability Community of
Practice
UAL Knowledge Exchange
Research Centres
Centre for Sustainable Fashion
Textile Futures research Centre
Centre for Circular Design
Design Against Crime
Courses at Central Saint Martins
MA Bio Design
MA Material Futures
MA Fashion Futures
MA Art and Science
Short-life circular material samples from the Mistra future Fashion
research programme in the Centre for Circular Design materials archive.

6. Pedagogical resources
• Information Literacy is essential to sustainability
research.
• How can this be inspired by current pedagogical
approaches to sustainability research?
• An aid for librarians who are new to
sustainability research, especially to promote:
• Object based learning as a method of enquiry.
• Applying critical frameworks to
sustainability research.
• Learning about sustainability through experience, co-
enquiry, and collaboration.
• Avoiding duplication of teaching content across all six
colleges.
Burns Model of Sustainability Pedagogy and Learning Theories. International
Journal of Teahcing and learning in Higher education. Vol.25:2 2013.

7. Part 2 : Workshop
Materials from Central Saint Martins, Materials & Products Collection. Image by Bilie Coxhead.
• Activity 1 : Material
narratives journey mapping.
• Activity 2 : Framing your
research using the 3 Pillar
framework.

8. Activity 1 : Material narratives journey mapping
• Work as a group to discuss the object
/ material on your table.
• Is your object / material sustainable?
• Guide your discussion using the Material
Journey Mapping worksheet.
• Find out more information by doing a web
search based on the information provided
with your object.
Activity 1/2
Cotton sample. Image by Billie Coxhead

9. What is it made out of?
How is it made?
What is it?
Who made it?
Where do the
materials come from?
Parts & Materials
Manufacture & Processing
Use &
Consumption
What is it
used for?
What happens after
consumption?
End of life
Where is it made?
How is it
maintained?
E.g. washed
Can the materials
be recycled/reused?
Activity 1 :
Material narrative journey mapping
Activity 1/2

10. Activity 1 : Discussion
Is your object / material sustainable?
Activity 1/2
• Was your question answered?
• Were you able to map the material journey /
lifecycle?
• What remaining questions do you have? Hands Holding Object. Image by Georgina Heaton
Barlow, A. 2017. Beyond object lessons: object-based learning in the academic library. In The experiential
library: Transforming academic and research libraries through the power of experiential learning.

11. Activity 2 : Framing your sustainability research
Activity 2/2
Social
Economic Environment
3 Pillar Framework Venn Diagram adapted from the University of Michiga nSustainability Assessment
Abstract frame by Tom Coates,
Show 1

12. Sustainability Frameworks
1. Materials &
Products
Collection Criteria
2. UN
Developmental
Goals
3. Centre
for Sustainable
Fashion Agendas
4. Material Driven
Pillars
5. Three Pillars
Framework
6. The Sustainable
Angle, Materials
EduSeries Criteria
1 3
4
6
2
5

13. Activity 2 : Example
Cotton
Social
Inequality, inequity, latifund, slavery, poverty (textile mills and
factories), single-use seeds.
Economic
25% global fibre industry, monoculture, ginning, spinning,
treatment cutting.
Brands: Patagonia; Better Cotton Initiative; Tula.
Environment
'Disease control', pesticides, Bromoxinyl, 'water depletion', 'soil
health', biodiversity, 'Regenerative Organic' certification, Aral Sea.
Activity 2/2
Image from FibreTrace, WGSN

14. Keywords Social Sustainability​ Environmental​ Sustainability​ Economic Sustainability​
Similar terms​​ Community
People​
Values
Heritage
Identity
Traditions
Biodiversity​​
Ecological​​
Material Extraction / Land​​
Eco - conscious​​
Pollution
Business
Consumption
Financial
Trade
Industry
Related terms​​ Policy​
Equality​
Cheap/ inexpensive​
"Land ownership"​
"Land guardianship"​
Countries​
Cultural appropriation
Material Culture
Natural world​​
Energy / Power​​
Ecosystem​​
Circular
Life cycle
Processes of manufacture​​
Industrial agriculture farming​​
Profit
Cost savings
Equitable growth
Sustainable ​development
Narrower terms​​ Women​
Children​
Minorities​
Indigenous​
Farming​
Nationality
Regenerative​​
Renewable
Biodegradable​​
Compostable​​
Material impact​​
Cradle to Cradle​​​
Certification
Life cycle analysis​

15. Example
Questions
Social
Economic Environment
• What initiatives exist in the production
of cotton that benefit the community? (policy)
• Which communities suffer from pesticides
and/or mono-culture farming? (equality)
• What steps are they taking
to be socially
and environmentally
sustainable? E.g. Certification,
Environmental standards
• How can cotton production
benefit farmers economically?
(equality)
• Are they able
to achieve economic
success AND
be environmentally and sociall
y sustainable?
Beware of Greenwashing!
• Can you trace the lifecycle of the
material from cradle to cradle?
• How can cotton be produced
with less impact on water
use? (environment)
• Is it naturally grown, industrially
farmed, synthetic? (material
extraction / impact on land and
biodiversity)

16. Activity 2/2
Social
Economic Environment
• Search for the material/object "Cotton"
using Material District or Google Scholar.
• Link your search using the 3 Pillars:
"Social", "Economic", "Environment".
• Use the keywords and questions to guide
your search on the sustainability of Cotton
- see pages 2, 3 and 4 of resource pack.
Activity 2 : Framing your search using library resources

17. Material District :
https://materialdistrict.com/
Materials database
Search for properties
Use keyword tags for sustainability
Google Scholar :
https://scholar.google.com/
Link your library account
Read abstracts
Use more complex keywords
Activity 2 : Framing your search using library resources

18. Activity 2 : Discussion
Is Cotton Socially, Economically and/or Environmentally
sustainable?
Activity 1/2
• Was your question answered?
• From the results, how does Cotton interact with
the 3 Pillars framework?
• How do these databases compare?
• What questions remain?
• How do you think you will answer them?
• What other resources could you use to find out
more?
Appleton, L. (2017). Metaliteracy in art and design education: implications for library instruction.
In P. Glassman & J. Dyki, (Eds.), The handbook of Art and Design Librarianship. (2nd ed.).
Student Syeda Sumeya Ahmed using
the photogrammetry rig, Image by
Digital Learning Lab.

19. Part 3 : Inside the Toolkit
Join our Miro board:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOE5oIOM=/
Image: Controller of the Universe, Damian Ortega, 2007. Image by Maria Eklind.

20. Information Literacy Theory and Planning
• Burns Model of Sustainability
Pedagogy (Heather Burns, 2013)
• Metaliteracy (Leo Appleton, 2017)
• Transformative and experiential learning
(Heather Burns, 2013)
• Fostering criticality (Paolo Freire, 2007)
• Compassion and Inclusivity (Bell hooks,
1994)
• Multi-modal knowledge and Object-
based Learning (Marie O'Mahony and
Tom Barker 2012)
UAL's Information Literacy Planning Tool

21. What is in the Toolkit?
Support
- Information Literacy Planning Tool
- Whole session templates
-Online and in-person
Pick 'n Mix activity templates
- Keyword building
- Information seeking activities
- Ice-breaker discussions
- Materials journey mapping tool
Reading and resources
- Sustainability reading list
- Object-based learning
reading list
- Subject Guide (subject to
agreement)
- Sustainability Frameworks
Student themes of interest
- Examples of anonymised feedback
- Examples of research themes
*Informed consent obtained
Sustainability research
examples
- Greenwashing
- Ethical land use
- Worked examples of
materials and objects
Invitation to
Collaborate

22. What would you add to our Toolkit?

23. References
• Appleton, L. (2017). Metaliteracy in art and design education: implications for library instruction. In P. Glassman & J. Dyki,
(Eds.), The handbook of Art and Design Librarianship. (2nd ed.).
• Barlow, A. 2017. Beyond object lessons: object-based learning in the academic library. In The experiential library:
Transforming academic and research libraries through the power of experiential learning.
• Brundtland, G.H., (1987). Our common future—Call for action. Environmental Conservation, 14(4), pp.291-294.
• Burns, Heather. "Meaningful Sustainability Learning: A Study of Sustainability Pedagogy in Two University Courses."
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 25, no. 2 (2013): 166-175.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1016542.pdf. [accessed: 14/01/2022]
• Freire, P., (1996). Pedagogy of the oppressed (revised). New York: Continuum.
• Hooks, B. (1994) Teaching to Transgress. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francisc Group.
• O'Mahony, Marie and Barker, Tom (2012) The role of the textile materials library: Providing access to multimodal knowledge
in design research. Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education, 10 (2). pp. 199-215. doi:10.1386/adch.10.2.199_1
• Raynes, I., & Heiser, N. (2019). "Cartographic Literacy Through Object-Based Learning: The Value of Primary Sources in
Instruction". Journal of Map & Geography Libraries, 15(2-3), 187-209. [accessed: 14/01/2022]
• The Sustainable Angle's Materials EduSeries: https://arts-ac-libguides-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/sustainableangle
• Times Higher Education (2021) UK Universities sign up to Climate Commitment ahead of Cop26. October 21st.
URL: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-universities-sign-climate-commitments-ahead-ofcop26. Accessed
07/04/2022.
• Zanin-Yost, A. and Tapley, E. (2008) 'Learning in the art classroom: making the connection between research
and art',Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America,27(2), pp. 40-45.

24. Julia Flood
Assistant Academic
Support Librarian
University of the Arts
London
Email: j.flood@arts.ac.uk
Telephone: 020 7514 7096
Billie Coxhead
Materials and Products
Co-Ordinator
University of the Arts
London
Email: b.coxhead@arts.ac.uk
Telephone: 020 7514 9316