Editorial: Green Libraries Are Local

You've got to love San Francisco. Great views, great people, great food, great libraries. Now I've got even more to love. The city, the library—and the state—are on an environmental sustainability track that is a model for us all. The occasion that prompted this burst of affection was a trip there last month for LJ's Design Institute West, “Going Green,” held May 9 at San Francisco Public Library's (SFPL) Main Library, in partnership with SFPL and the California State Library. (For videos, photos, resources, the program, and more, go to www.libraryjournal.com/diwest.)

Admittedly, I haven't always been able to think fondly about the new Main Library, which opened in 1996. Now I can say I love not only the “new” new Main—the improved first floor reopened in January—but also the branches I visited. My tour included recently built or renovated SFPL facilities, with green elements throughout.

Unlike the rather dim and unwelcoming first floor of the Main I remember, this space is open and airy, with the desks circling the room, a visible self-return station (through a window you can watch your books journey on the conveyor belt), and, happily, a media center and all the fiction you'd ever want to read.

The San Francisco location for the Design Institute underscored the challenges we face nationwide as we strive to make our buildings and communities green. Varying weather, soil, rainfall, infrastructure, all require different green solutions. As Dennis Humphries (Humphries Poli Architects), a Denver-based architect on one of the panels, noted, “In Denver, [there are] 300 days of sun, in Seattle, 135. We have a lot of local decisions.”

The SFPL branch tour (held the day before our institute) gave force to his comment. In a city set on a fault line, all three libraries we visited have been seismically retrofitted. All three use natural lighting extensively, with glazed windows and blinds to prevent glare. None has air conditioning, owing to the mild climate and well-designed air exchange systems. (Only one of the 27 branches needs air conditioning.) As BSA architect and panelist David Ross pointed out, “in California...effective daylighting really means sun control.”

None of the three branches has a parking lot; San Franciscans are firm supporters of public transportation. “We don't believe that people should bring their cars to the library,” said SFPL's Marcia Schneider. In fact, the city was cited recently by Popular Science magazine as the nation's second greenest city because of its commitment to public transportation and use of solar energy. (Portland, OR, was first.)

At Noe Valley Branch Library (a 1916 Carnegie), the outdoor decking, which can hold 100–150 children, is made of recycled plastic (e.g., soda bottles and milk jugs) and sawdust. At Mission Bay Branch, in a mixed-use building (retail, senior housing, and a health center) that has photovoltaic (solar) panels on the roof, the floor is made of recycled tires. There are green spots in the buildings “to educate people on greening,” said SFPL's Brian Bannon, who organized the tour.

“We need to show the world our green libraries,” said the Design Institute's luncheon speaker, Jared Blumenfeld, who heads the city's Department of the Environment. “Every building tells a story,” he said, noting that global warming is “too big” for most people to contemplate, but because “libraries are close to the community, [they] are the solution.”

“They already have 'fix your flat,'” he said, “so why not bike sharing through libraries, transit rewards through your library card.... The library is a one-stop green shop.”

San Francisco's green goals are enviable. “Every single residence and business has to have composting and recycling,” said Blumenfeld. By 2012, the city aims to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels and to have all new buildings meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standards.

Many cities and towns have adopted similar green initiatives. (See also info on sustainability in Chicago at www.libraryjournal/di.) Still, architect Humphries got a laugh—and a groan—when he showed the April 17 cover of the Phoenix New Times, with the cover line “Green Fatigue: Is Anyone Else Sick and Tired of Eco-chic?” to Design Institute attendees. Chic or not, it's way too soon and too serious for us to relegate ecoconsciousness to the fad junk pile—unless we're planning to recycle it. We're not at the end of the road toward sustainability. We're at the beginning, and libraries can lead the way.