Trempealeau library director awarded for sustainable efforts

Shirley M. Wright Memorial Library director Jessica Schoonover believes sustainability is “in the DNA” of public libraries. 

People borrow resources such as books, magazines and electronic devices before returning them so others can use them, too. But projects aimed toward renewable energy and recycling resources allow sustainability to show beyond materials at the library on Fremont Street in Trempealeau.

Those efforts earned Schoonover the 2023 individual Inspiring Sustainability Award from the Sustainability Institute — a nonprofit organization in the La Crosse area for the last 20 years that seeks to educate and promote sustainable practices.

“I was really humbled, to be honest, especially looking at the work that these other nominated individuals and institutions are doing to push forward this work. … Personally, I feel a heavy weight of responsibility for this space, the library and our taxpayers dollars,” Schoonover said.

The Sustainability Institute gives two awards each year, one to an individual and another to an institution or group.

Schoonover was nominated for the award by a Friends of Trempealeau Library association member.

The library showcases 60 solar panels on its roof, which produce over 100 percent of the library’s energy needs. Solar panels were paid for by grant dollars and did not require operating expenses from the library or village, which Schoonover said was important.

Schoonover estimated a savings of $5,000 in energy costs since the solar panels were added last March. That money can then be spent on other needs, Schoonover said.

A rain garden in front of the building was introduced years ago to utilize water runoff in a garden instead of it ending up in community waterways.

Only native plants surround the building to support local bees, butterflies and birds, which also led to the library being recognized as a monarch butterfly waystation.

Education and resources for the community are part of the library’s core values, and signs by the rain garden co-exist with other educational resources on solar energy production and sustainable practices.

The library also hosts a homeschooling nature program every other Wednesday to teach children about animals, plants and the environment.

“We feel that if we can inspire our kids and families with all the beneficial parts that our outdoors have for us both physically and emotionally, we’re reminding them that we want to take care of it,” Schoonover said.

Another process underway for Schoonover is joining the sustainable libraries initiative, a national program that examines how purchases are made, transportation, land use, cleaning materials and other areas.

The solar panels are a “backstage pass” for community members interested in solar power to learn and see alternate energy. The library website’s Shirley Wright Memorial Library Renew page showcases information on environmental sustainability and how the library reached its current status.

“We’re never going to reach perfection in our usage of natural resources, and that’s not what this is about. It’s just mainly do we know everything that we’re doing and how could it maybe be done a little better for the good of our environment,” Schoonover said.

She called the award surprising, adding there is still work ahead.

“The award was nothing I was looking for,” the library director said, “but I really wanted to see how can we in our little bitty footprint here just do the best we can with what we have both for our community and our environment at the same time.”

“It sure feels good to do something little and try to make a small impact. And I think if everybody is making a little bit of a small impact or a small change, that is a benefit.”