The Green Age of Libraries:
How and Why Libraries are Turning Green
Martin Rheaume
University of South Florida
Abstract
In this paper I explore the emerging trend of green design in library building. Using a wide variety of sources from the fields of LIS, architecture, and environmental science, I discover that there are a number of reasons why this is trend is gaining momentum. I first define green building. Then I examine a number of case studies to see how green building strategies have been implemented in a real world setting. Finally, I explain why this movement has become so popular, and why it will be one of the defining issues in the LIS field in the 21st century.
The Green Age of Libraries:
How and Why Libraries are Turning Green
There are a number of trends emerging, defining what the 21st century library will look like and offer. All of these trends are exciting, but none are more exciting, or offer a more promising, optimistic outlook of, and for the future than the emergence of green design in library building. Libraries offer a great template for green design, because a great library building is a source of civic pride for a city, and green design is a great way to emphasize the city's civic values. Also, libraries have a responsibility to set an example and educate. Finally, libraries are long term investments in the future of the community. Many libraries all across the country, and throughout the world have decided to go green, and the trend is accelerating. The emergence of green technology into the mainstream, along with a developing consciousness of the benefits of sustainable design, are making the 21st century the green age of libraries.
What?
What green characteristics will the 21st century libraries have that will differentiate them from the libraries of the 20th century? What makes a building sustainable? In Japan, “it is a building that harmoniously coexists with the environment through low impact on the environment and significant contact with nature while providing amenities and health to humans” (Tseng, 2007, p. 51). There is more than one way to define a green building, but there are a number of central themes that run through all of them, including, minimizing the negative impact the building will have on the local environment, and if possible having a positive impact. Reducing the use of water and energy by designing in a way that maximizes the use of natural and renewable resources. Integrating actual greenery and vegetation into the building and site design using drought resistant and/or native vegetation. And, maintaining high standards of indoor air quality to help ensure the health of the people who inhabit the building. These remedies are physical manifestations of a broad design philosophy that is hard to define specifically, because sustainable design demands flexibility in approach in order to meet local needs, both present and future. Nevertheless, for the sake of accountability, the level of sustainability needs to be measured. In the United States nobody has a greater say in defining building sustainability than the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Development (LEED). A part of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), they have developed a point based rating system. There is a total of 69 points possible, and a building can be classified as certified (26 points), silver (33), gold (39), or platinum (52+). LEED uses five different categories to judge a building's sustainability 1) site location, 2) water conservation, 3)energy efficiency, 4) materials, 5) indoor air quality, and a bonus category for innovation and design (Sands, 2002). LEED has a number of specific requirements that buildings must meet in order to get points. It also has a number of suggestions on how to meet those requirements.
How?
How are libraries implementing strategies to increase the sustainability of buildings, use less energy, and reduce costs? Design ideas that were once the lonely realm of environmentalist groups, or a luxury only the elite few could afford, are being implemented on a mass scale. More than how to implement any one strategy, an integrated planning process is the first and most important aspect of green design. Without proper integration from the earliest moments of the planning faze, redundancies can occur, eliminating many of the potential benefits of sustainable design. Good sustainable design capitalizes on the synergistic relationships that occur between the various design elements.
Site Selection
Before building can start, a site must be chosen. The selection of the site has a large impact on how ecologically friendly the library will be. LEED has a number of guidelines to help the site selection process. There are a number of questions to consider that will help guide the site selection process, including, what kind of impact will construction have on the local environment, will there be erosion, what can be done with storm runoff, and is the site already green? Also, the library should be located in a densely populated area, near a number of other service related buildings. People should be able to reach the building via public transportation and the parking lots should give priority parking to those driving energy efficient automobiles. The heat island effect can be reduced by shading hard surfaces, putting them underground, or by implementing a vegetative roof (LEED,2005).
Water Conservation
As the site is being selected, strategies should be developed for conserving water. Libraries are combining smart design with new technology to reduce the use of potable water for uses on irrigation and wastewater delivery. The Seattle Public Library has an underground 40,000 gallon tank that holds rainwater runoff from the building and the site. During the dry season that water is used to irrigate the landscape, which was chosen because of its drought resistant character. This is an excellent example of synergistic design, and it shows what can be accomplished with integrated planning. They used one solution to solve two problems, reducing the impact the building has on the local environment, and reducing water use. In addition to saving water on irrigation, low flow fixtures are used inside the building and the urinals are waterless (Fox, 2004). Seattle serves as an excellent example, but many others have enacted similar measures for saving water.
Energy Conservation
Energy efficiency is arguably the most important category in becoming sustainable. LEED seems to believe so, because it is the heaviest weighted of all the categories. Energy efficient design is in many ways a return to passive design principles that have evolved over thousands of years, until the advent of air conditioning and cheap energy made those strategies appear to be unnecessary. After air conditioning became widely available, buildings were designed to eliminate influences of the outside environment. As environmental awareness increases, as well as the cost of fossil fuels needed to operate giant heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (HVAC) systems, building designers are beginning to recognize that the outside environment cannot be ignored, and should be taken advantage of. What 21st century designers are beginning to do is implement ancient passive design principles, while taking advantage of the most advanced technology available.
The passive strategies vary according to location, but they are always implemented to capitalize on the natural elements, mostly wind and sun, to manage the temperature and to provide ventilation and light. Active strategies are more technologically advanced solutions that include using various forms of renewable energy resources and using sensors to adjust lighting . Using photovoltaic cells that turn sunlight into energy is becoming an increasingly popular way to reduce energy dependence. If 21st century green design is about the integration of passive and active methods, than the master is Ken Yeang who designed the National Library of Singapore. The Singapore library uses the passive design of light shelves to diffuse direct sunlight, and to allow it to filter into the library. The shelves are oriented in a manner that allows Singapore's tropical sun to light the library, while almost never, assaulting the patrons with direct sunlight. When the sun becomes too bright or not bright enough, sensors are programmed to brighten and dim the lights and lower and raise the shades to maximize both light quality and energy efficiency (Anisko & Willoughby, 2006).
Building Materials
It is believed that up to 40% of landfill space is filled with construction waste material (Sands, 2002). The primary responsibility in selecting materials for the library is to contribute as little waste as possible. Another responsibility is to choose materials that can be produced without causing too much damage to the natural environment. In order to fulfill the first responsibility, post-industrial and post-consumer recycled materials are being used. When purchasing materials claiming to be made from recycled goods it is important to investigate what their claims mean. It is a common marketing practice to exaggerate how green a product is by using misleading statements (Sands, 2002). Also, materials should be chosen that are going to be able to be reused or recycled 50-100 years down the road when the library building has reached the end of its useful life (Tseng, 2007). There is every reason to believe that reusing and recycling are going to become increasingly necessary in the future. It is also important to consider where materials are coming from. Resources have emerged to help guide the material selection process, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). They rate and certify wood based on a number of factors regarding how it was produced; rights of indigenous peoples, environmental impact, workers rights, efficiency, management, and conservation (FSC, 1996). Another material option is using quickly renewable materials such as bamboo in place of wood whenever possible (Lamis, 2003). The widening availability of green building materials, along with the development of non-profit watchdog groups are two important factors in the greening of 21st century library buildings.
Indoor Air Quality
Along with energy inefficiency, poor air quality has been another side-effect of the post air conditioning building design. Because most modern buildings are temperature controlled, they are designed to be air tight. The lack of ventilation can not only make buildings expensive to cool, it also traps harmful toxins that can do serious damage to people's respiratory systems. Toxins come from a variety of sources. Materials that make up the library, including paints and carpeting, have volatile organic compounds (VOC's), which produce a ground-level ozone after reacting with sunlight and nitrogen. The carbon dioxide that people breathe into the atmosphere is another toxin. To improve air quality, materials can be bought that have a low VOC content, and CO2 monitors can be installed to insure that CO2 levels remain at a safe level (Lamis, 2003). Also, buildings should be designed in a way in which the air gets recycled, and does not stay stagnant. A green library is not just about taking care of the environment, it is about taking care of the health and well being of those who work in it and patronize it. On average, people spend about 90% of their time indoors (Lamis, 2003). If the air quality in the building is no good and it is making people sick, than all of the work to make the building sustainable has missed the point.
Why?
Why have 145 libraries registered with LEED for certification, accounting for 16% of all LEED projects (Brown, 2003)? First, libraries have been expanding the scope of their mission statements, to include working for the betterment of mankind. Second, technology is no longer a barrier. Third, it is great for the image off the library. Finally, sustainability offers the library a degree of independence, because cost of maintenance goes down as well as reliance on the volatile fossil fuels market.
Mission
All libraries have a mission statement, and spoken or unspoken, libraries are here to improve the condition of mankind. An institution can no longer, in good faith aim to improve the human condition while contributing to the destruction of the future: Buildings produce about 40% of the dangerous greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere (Anisko & Willoughby, 2006). The environmental debate has evolved. The fact that humans are having a negative impact on the environment is no longer seriously questioned. Now, two questions shape the debate: What is our responsibility to fix it, and what can we do to fix it? Individuals and private organizations have a right to find their personal answers to those questions, but libraries are an investment in the future of our society. Libraries have a responsibility to not contribute to the destruction of the environment, to educate the people of our current situation, and empower them to make a difference. Libraries are discovering that their green building gives them a great opportunity to educate the citizenry (Tseng, 2007). As libraries continue to take a more progressive stance on improving the human condition, sustainability will have to be a central theme.
Technology
The availability of the technology and knowledge to build green buildings has past a tipping point. It was not too long ago that many of the things that are being done now were the realm of science fiction. This is no longer the case. Green buildings are constructed all over the world in every sector of the economy; residential, commercial, non-profit, government etc. The fact that green design has caught on in the private sector is evidence that there is more to green design than saving the earth. Another breakthrough is the diversity of green technology. There is an abundance of options, so any green builder has the ability to capitalize on the local natural resources available, and customize the building to most efficiently operate in the local environment. And that is what this era of green building is about, designing a building that harmoniously interacts with its environment, while making full use of technological advancements. Along with the advancement of technology, the increasing awareness of environmental issues decrease the burden of the green builder. With the development of organizations like the USGBC and the FSC, green builders have information resources available to them. These organizations offer measurable levels of achievement to strive for, along with acting as watchdogs to help prevent the exaggeration of green credentials or “greenwashing.” With these advances, sustainable construction is no longer a utopian fantasy, but is simply becoming the way good buildings are being built.
Image
The library is undergoing an identity transformation. It is struggling to stay relevant, as a vocal minority predicts its demise. While its image as an outdated institution is not entirely deserved, it could be doing more to assert itself as an irreplaceable part of the community, that plans on being an assertive force for good in the 21st century. Green design helps it do that three different ways. 1) A sustainable building makes a statement that the library is investing in the future of the community. 2) Sustainable buildings are smartly designed, aesthetically pleasing, and are powered by state of the art technology. When people see these emerald marvels they will no longer be able to maintain false stereotypes regarding libraries as anachronistic relics from an analog age. 3) More and more people take environmentalism seriously, so a green image is a good image. As corporate behemoths such as Starbucks and Wall-Mart are discovering, people are no longer tolerating unsustainable institutional practices, because they know they are jeopardizing the lives of not so future kin. The public awareness on this issue is only going to increase, if libraries want the public to believe their mission of bettering humankind, than people are going to have to see the library as a green institution.
Independence
The first three reasons why libraries should go green could all be true, but if libraries cannot afford to build green buildings than everything becomes a moot point. We live in a world where most decisions are either directly or indirectly shaped by money, but now, sustainable building can actually be more affordable than standard construction if the big picture is taken into account. Thanks to computer modeling software, building planning can be done more efficiently than in the past. Precise estimations on quantity of building materials can prevent waste and save money. Simulations can also be done to
predict how big of an HVAC system the library needs. The Oak Park Library in Ventura County, California used a tool called Solar 5.5 to build a 3-D computer model of the library's energy performance, and then plugged in various passive and active design strategies into the program to see what kind of effect they would have on each other to maximize the energy savings and cost of the building. It saved them 46% of the energy cost compared to meeting minimum state requirements (Boyden & Weiner, 2000). One of the most important features of green design is a shift from the reliance on depleting fossil fuels, to renewable energy resources. The independence from fossil fuels will save the library large sums of money, and it will relish its independence as prices continue to rise. Money will also be saved by having higher morale, health, and productivity from employees. The architectural firm Heschong Mahone conducted a study that indicated students perform 25% better on standardized tests when in classrooms lit naturally (as cited in Sands, 2002). High levels of CO2 can decreases performance as well (Lamis, 2003). Savings can also be increased, because there are governmental incentives to capitalize on, and some utility companies offer incentives too (Boyden & Weiner, 2001). Because of the long-term nature of the library, green design is potentially less expensive than standard design, as heavy up front costs often pay for themselves, waste is reduced, efficiency is increased, and energy and water are conserved. Evolving libraries of the 21st century will integrate sustainable practices, because it will be the most cost-effective way to do things.
Conclusion
The what, how, and why of the green library make it clear that libraries have near limitless options when planning a new building, but green or not green should not be among them. Green design needs to become as much of a given when designing libraries as books and computers. The knowledge is here. The technology is here, and the desire to make it happen is here. If libraries fail to adapt, and the 21st century is not the age of the green library, than it may be the age of the vanishing library.
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