Partners for the Future: Public Libraries and Local - LibraryWorks.com

• Engaging the community in
supporting local environmental
goals; and
• Educating the public about
environmental sustainability
in general and local priorities in
particular.
The following sections provide
examples of how public libraries
and local governments are
working together to achieve
environmental sustainability goals.
Modeling Green Practices
Public libraries have embraced
green building and green
operations, working in close
partnership with local governments.
As more and more governments
adopt green building policies and
requirements, new public libraries
have become models of creative
design and measurable energy
savings. Green roofs, solar panels,
geothermal heating systems,
on-demand water heating, glazed
windows, skylights, and use of
recycled materials throughout
buildings are becoming the norm
in today’s modern libraries.
Library staff involvement through
environmental committees, green
teams, and individual leadership
focus on green operations
Partners for the Future
and connect library operations
to local government energy
saving practices.
What makes green building and
operations in public libraries
particularly valuable is their
educational impact. Every visit to
a green public library is a lesson
learned about environmental
construction and energy efficient
operations. Tours of green
roofs, kiosks telling the library’s
green story, demonstrations
of how solar panels on library
buildings generate energy, and
visible recycling activities raise
awareness about the importance
of collective community action
to preserve environmental
resources.
Test Centers for Energy
Conservation Innovation
The Fayetteville Public Library
and City of Fayetteville are
working together to bring solar
energy to market in the region.
The library is considered the city’s
laboratory. With a grant from
the International City/County
Management Association (ICMA),
the Fayetteville team designed
and installed 60 solar panels
on the library’s roof to provide
power to the library using a
“The city of Fayetteville is
on the cutting edge of
exposing the broad role
that public libraries can
play in responding to
community priorities.
Their solar test bed project
is clearly nontraditional for
a library, but is important
to their community.”
Ron Carlee
Chief Operating Officer
and Director of
Strategic Initiatives,
International City/County
Management Association
commercially available inverter.
As part of the research process,
the library tested a highly
efficient, state-of-the-art silicon
converter developed by Arkansas
Power Electronics International,
a small local company that
specializes in developing
technology for electronic
systems.
The project has broad
sustainability goals beyond
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Urban Libraries Council