A Path to Sustainable Learning: Nuance and Literacy Across Campus When Considering Quality Education

How can higher education faculty Librarians facilitate quality education in a sustainability context? Cal Poly Humboldt is the newest polytechnic in the California State University (CSU) system, diligently incorporating academics and application, while actively incorporating the concepts of SDG 4: Quality Education – increasing relevant technical/vocational skills, increasing literacy, and ensuring that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for sustainability. In this ecosystem, Librarians offer the hopeful perspective of interconnectedness and intellectual curiosity. Embracing uncertainty, their pedagogies in academics and research foster a continuous pursuit of educational improvement within a sustainability context. This chapter explores how librarians cultivate genuine relationships with sustainability through information seeking, literacy, advocacy, and competency. Their engagement extends beyond the library, involving interdisciplinary collaborations, curriculum development, and committee work, fostering a campus-wide sustainability ethos. Case studies, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced instruction, the Trillium project, SHIFT grants, and the People + Planet place-based learning community (PBLC), exemplify these efforts. By highlighting nuance and relational accountability, librarians empower the campus community to critically understand and collaboratively advance a sustainable future in education.