Penn Libraries awarded its first Book Prize in Sustainability to Johan Eklöf for his 2021 book, “The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms that Sustain Life” in a ceremony at Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center on Sept. 26.
The event was held at the Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion with around 40 people in attendance, including Penn Libraries staff, administrators, community members, and the book’s translator, Elizabeth DeNoma. A cocktail reception preceded the award ceremony and book talk.
Eklöf, a Swedish writer, consultant, and bat scientist, draws from his research on the impact of light pollution on bat populations to call on readers to “embrace darkness” and appreciate natural rhythms of day and night. “The Darkness Manifesto” is his second work that has been translated into English.
In his talk, Eklöf discussed how bat colonies in Swedish churches have been declining substantially due to light pollution. He elaborated on how pollution prevents most urban residents from seeing the stars at night and argued that urban lighting only serves to create an illusion of safety.
According to H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Brigitte Weinsteiger, Penn Libraries established the prize to shed light on sustainability efforts and create conversations around the topic.
She highlighted Penn Libraries’ past and present work on sustainability, including quantitative and geospatial datasets, as well as the sustainable resources and materials available in the Materials Library.
Weinsteiger stated that Penn Libraries hopes to expand on environmental initiatives, such as the Sustainability Prize, that are a “call to action” for authors and thinkers to contribute to discourse on the environment.
Penn Libraries Board of Advisors member Haniel Lynn, who is a 1991 Engineering graduate and 1995 Wharton graduate, as well as his wife and 1991 Engineering graduate Anita Hsueh Lynn, funded the award, which includes an $8,000 cash prize.
While three other works were nominated for the prize, New School affiliate faculty and Director of End Climate Silence Genevieve Guenther, who served on the jury, noted that Eklöf’s work successfully connected human civilization with ecological life.
“Usually, those connections are invisible, and the book does that very, very successfully,” she said.
Eklöf told The Daily Pennsylvanian that receiving the award felt “a bit unreal.”
“I wasn’t really expecting to get an award for this,” he said. “I mean, I’m proud.”
Eklöf added that he hopes that his book will make Penn students more aware of the light pollution issue, noting how more people are aware of the issue now than even a few years ago.
“Enjoy darkness,” he said.
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