We should congratulate ourselves fellow librarians, the first public library in Michigan has finally been given the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification. Hastings Public Library was awarded the certification from the “U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED program” on October 25th.
Throughout this class we have discussed many aspects of being a librarian and the ethics that come with our profession. Our main concern has always been, and always be, about our patrons and the community good. In the new age of “Going Green” and becoming environmentally friendly, isn’t it about time librarians stepped it up a notch? We’re already part way there, recycling a few hundred books to a few thousand patrons. This alone saves on cutting down trees to create paper and saving on the use of oil in trucks transporting goods. This is because we know that the products we give out will (hopefully) come back, thus cutting down on the need to purchase new items. Unfortunately, this is not enough. What earned Hastings Public Library the gold certification was the way they transformed not just the building, but the way they think.
As stated in the article covering the library, “The six major environmental categories of review include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation and Design. A gold certification recognizes a superior level of energy and environmental performance”. Hastings Public Library used many recyclables for chairs, desks, and even carpeting as well as changing to “roof gardens and [a] rain garden that process water runoff from the building and parking lot to return cleaner water to the water table”. The librarians also vowed to continually inform their patrons about becoming environmentally friendly and even declared October “Sustainability Month”.
As librarians, it is our duty to offer the best services to our patrons. So I challenge you fellow future librarians, why not go a step further and offer nothing but the best to our Earth? We are the Next Gen librarians and it’s about time we live up to that.
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How about some pictures to go wiht your green roof, rain garden and other sustainable features @ the library?
If there are some to share, I will post your story on my blog.
Good work getting your library team to go through the LEED process.
best
Timothy
GoodNaturePublishing.com
Seattle
I really like Trista’s statement that the librarians had to change “not just the building, but the way they think.” We often get stuck in ruts, doing the same thing the same way because that is how it has always been done. It is great when someone takes a moment to think of a change for the better. I hope that more librarians will follow the lead of the librarians at Hastings Public Library.
I wonder how much influence the community had on this decision. As librarians, we are serving the needs of the patrons of the community. If the patrons are looking for green alternatives, the library should be looking as well. Libraries have the opportunity to be at the forefront of change, serving as a model not just for other libraries, but for other businesses as well.
Ann Arbor is an example of a community that is looking for green alternatives, and the library is keeping up with that demand. In 2004, the Mallets Creek branch opened and, with its rooftop gardens and rain water capturing, it was awarded the 2005 American Institute of Architects Michigan Award for Sustainable Design. The Ann Arbor Library furthered its mission of serving the community by providing this “service” of green design.
People now are becoming more and more aware of and concerned with the environment and finding ways to protect and sustain it. They are looking for things in their own communities that they can be proud of and possibly even use as a model for their own lives. The library can be the building and community center that people are proud to call their own.
Much like technology a few years back, efforts to “be green” and promote environmental awareness are really taking hold now. Also, much like technology, librarians need to be poised to embrace this area of interest, not just with resources about it, but by setting an example. Hastings Public Library has done a great job leading the way with this, and I hope more libraries are ready to follow.
Hasting's attainment of the LEED certificate provides an excellent example of what is possible when a group of people, librarians in this case, focus their determination on achieving a goal. Ideally, their success will eventually soak into the surrounding community. Building an eco-friendly structure is certainly a success in its own right but perhaps the winning of this award will become an inspiration to the town itself and it will not be too long before there is a green firehouse, police station, courthouse, or school.
Over time this could spread to neighboring towns and cities and multiply its success far beyond what began as an eco-friendly structure. Really, all that is needed is a beginning and in this case, I'm proud to say, the beginning began at a library.
Being collectors of information libraries stand to offer more to their communities than just buildings. Frequent, or even constant, spotlights on eco-friendly books and offering eco-friendly periodicals can serve to educate and inspire patrons to pursue a lifestyle that helps to contribute to their own quality of life, that of their neighbors, and ultimately humankind. Some examples might include books on:
-organic gardening, paricularly eco fertilizers, etc.
-energy conservation
-recycling
Also, I have noticed that many libraries in the area where I live have begun offering collection points for used batteries and paper. I am sure there are more ideas I am not thinking of now that others might bring up.
The passed three weeks the UPS center where I work has begun replacing the lighting in the building with new energy saving light bulbs. A friend of mine who is in management told me it will save thousands of dollars for the company in the first year alone. Above that it has brightened the work areas considerably and contributed to a better work experience. The development of eco technologies such as this has provided affordable alternatives that are waiting to be taken advantage of. It is our job as future librarians to embrace this technology and frame of thinking and to pass it on to our patrons.
I strongly agree with Trista that libraries of tomorrow should be green, not only with resource sustainability, but we should also be leaders in promoting this way of thinking within the society we serve. People now are becoming more aware of the necessity of protecting the environment. However they still don’t know the right procedures to follow. We as librarian we should emphasis on organizing environmental programs in our library to teach the new generation how to “go green.”
On the other hand, environmental risks are not new, but we are now in the age where promoting resource sustainability becomes feasible. Recycling is a business now. Libraries can also take advantage of the revenues of recycling and sustainability in order to fund environmental programs.
With no doubt we are witnessing a new era. Hybrid cars, recycled materials, and solar energy. As librarians we have two duties: to transform our libraries into “green libraries”, and to promote environmental protection knowledge among our patrons.
I’m curious how much this cost the library. “Going Green” usually isn’t cheap. There are easy and inexpensive ways to cut back (like better insulation) but new recycled products such as tile are often very expensive. Is it worth spending more money on green products when the extra money could have gone to further develop the collection?
Also, should libraries be promoting and supporting the green movement? I think it is one thing for a green building to be built if it is the best way to serve the patrons, but another thing for a library to actively promote the green movement. We talked at length about how the library should be careful not to promote ideas and I don’t see how this is any different.
Here is a link to Hastings Public Library.It has pictures of some of the products they used: Hastings Public Library
This is fantastic for libraries to be leading the way in the green movement. It is our job, after all, to educate the public and what better way than by example. Green buildings can save money in the long run and can we really put a price on the environment. Something needs to be done so it’s better to be part of the solution.
There are so many educational activities that can result from greening a building. Master gardeners, for example, need to complete volunteer hours each year. What better way than with a rain garden at the library? This could also be an activity for kids. These kinds of gardens tend to result in less outdoor maintenance and save money.
This can have a domino effect as well. Librarians can influence publishing companies to use recycled materials for books and more eco-friendly printing practices.
This is an important step that the whole world must take soon.
Going along with Susan P’s comment, I’ve been looking through the library’s web site and they have quite a few programs already, mainly a “Sustainable Film Series” (that amazingly doesn’t include “An Inconvenient Truth”).
The community raised over 5.4 million dollars for this building, which the library moved into when it was completed. The campaign began in 1998. That’s pretty amazing for a library whose operating income is $516,411 per year (in 2002 at least:www.city-data.com/city/Hastings-Michigan.html). Like Elizabeth, I’m also curious as to how this affected their collections development.
The question about promoting a green environment is interesting as well. Mainly I wonder how it can be approached ethically. Theoretically, we should all want a healthier planet, but what about those who still don’t believe in global warming? Are these librarians saying the opinions of top scientists who have been able to present information that global warming doesn’t exist don’t matter? However, I doubt we will ever read in a library that something like smoking is good for you, either. Frankly, I see this as only being a benefit to the community, and hope more follow in their footsteps.
I agree that the future of libraries are in some ways tied to making the libraries 'green'. I had never thought of it in that way until the articles that we read this week for class. I applaud the efforts of the Hastings Public Library and believe that they are heading in the right direction not only to better the planet and the community that they serve environmentally but also in the right direction for the sustainability of their library.
I do realize however that going green and making changes to an already existing facility is expensive and most libraries just do not have the funding to do that however, small changes can be made along the way and new libraries should be built with these considerations incorporated.
I don't know that promoting a "green" library is the same as promoting global warming. Once upon a time there was an environmental movement that did not focus on the rising core temp of the Earth. Today the issues may be tied in most peoples mind, but perhaps you could still be environmentally concerned without believing in global warming. Recycling is beneficial to everyone.
As to the cost of operating a green library I wonder about tax credits (what kind of taxes a library pays I don't know) or even the possibility of putting energy back into the grid by way of solar power or wind turbines etc.
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