Supporting a more sustainable future with ebooks

“Universities are crucial to achieving the [UN] Sustainable Development Goals as they serve as incubators of new ideas, inventions and solutions and they raise awareness, educate and inform about the SDGs, on their campuses, in their communities and beyond.”
— United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI)

Research on sustainability is growing, driven in part by increasing attention to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed, in a 2023 survey, research office leaders and staff reported that research impact on SDGs was among their top three performance indicators and noted their importance will grow over the next five years.

Among the drivers behind the growth in sustainability research is the mounting climate crisis. In response, a "green career" is becoming a popular choice for college students, as they seek career paths that would enable them to impact the environment positively.

At the same time, the burgeoning sustainability job market is fueling a need for highly qualified workers. Environmental Science reports a “strong and steady growth rate of 8%” through 2030: a worker pipeline that universities are challenged to help fill with graduates that can step into careers in areas such as renewable energy, eco-friendly fashion and green corporate practices.

At the nexus of it all is the academic library.

Support cross-disciplinary collaboration and inspire future research

Academic librarians are facing increasing demand from students and researchers for authoritative and comprehensive sustainability content. It’s an opportunity to champion sustainability education by curating collections that inspire students and inform future research.

However, building collections for a discipline as dynamic as sustainability can be a challenge, requiring deep understanding of both current academic needs and future trends. Further, the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability – which sits at the intersection of social, environmental and economic studies – makes collection development even more complex.

ProQuest^™, part of Clarivate^™, is helping academic libraries overcome that challenge with the Sustainability Ebook Collection, a subscription that spans virtually every degree program and drives student and research success at all levels.

Sustainability Ebook Collection: Thousands of titles curated by experts

The 7,700 titles in the Sustainability Ebook Subscription are hand-picked, spanning more than 40 subjects and 400 publishers, and include the latest, most relevant content, with more than two-thirds published within the past decade.

The content is mapped to all 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a boon for universities that include the SDGs in their mission or goals as libraries can quickly demonstrate how their collections align.

Areas of coverage include: Business & Economics, Education & Humanities, Environmental Conservation, Equity & Social Justice, Food & Agriculture, Health & Well-Being, Industry, Energy & Technology, Sustainable Cities and Communities. Many of the titles have never been available by subscription.

Designed to empower libraries and their users

Like all ProQuest ebook subscriptions, the Sustainability Ebook Subscription offers unlimited access so that students and faculty are never turned-away from a book they need. Further, the subscription will continue to grow as new titles are published and sustainability disciplines evolve.

The Sustainability Ebook Subscription includes powerful analytic tools to help libraries gain insight on their users and trending content. Additionally, it includes DRM-free chapter downloads – a popular feature for students that need specific parts of ebooks for assignments. There’s no overlap with Academic Complete, the flagship ebook subscription from ProQuest, making it an ideal companion subscription.

Explore sample titles and learn more about the Sustainability Ebook Subscription. And contact us for more information, including companion resources such as the Global Issues Library, the SciTech Premium Collection and the Social Science Premium Collection.

Earth Day resources

This Earth Day, boost coverage in the areas of Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies. Our team of collection development librarians recommend the following curated ebook lists:

• • Sustainability Ebook Collection
  • Kogan Page's Sustainable Business
  • Green Chemistry
  • Environmental Science
  • Doody’s Climate
  • Climate Justice

From foundational knowledge in "Basics of Environmental Science" to the specialized study of "Climate Change and Security,” explore this comprehensive selection of titles that span ecological, climatic, and social issues. The titles included in these lists are available in multiple acquisition models via LibCentral and the Rialto and OASIS marketplaces.