Facilities Summit adds to libraries' 'go green' efforts
GPLS News, October 2008
Nathan Rall (right) welcomed nearly 50 attendees to the GPLS Facilities Summit, including Barbara Osborne-Harris, director of the Coweta County Library System.
Libraries across the country are increasingly recognizing green building and sustainable construction as trends worth following. Georgia's public library systems are embracing the green movement and are hoping to take advantage of the energy savings, productivity increases and positive public perception that it brings.
Federal and state government initiatives in the form of tax rebates and credits, heightened demand by communities and dramatic improvements in the quality and variety of sustainable materials are among the many additional factors driving libraries to "go green," explained Nathan Rall, director of Library Facilities, Planning & Construction for GPLS.
"Fifteen public libraries are currently in design or construction utilizing capital outlay funding from the state," Rall explained. "I anticipate that number to increase to 20 or so by the end of the year. In addition, DeKalb County currently has two libraries under construction and seven more in design with no state capital outlay funding. And green building is drawing consider-able interest from everyone."
To help educate members of the Georgia library community about green building and best practices that apply to construction and maintenance, GPLS sponsored its first Facilities Summit Sept. 9 and 10 at the Columbus Public Library. Approximately 50 library directors or their representatives, and even a few of their architects, attended.
The entire opening day slate, led by experts David Greenebaum of SOLINET and Kelly Gearhart of the Southface Energy Institute, was devoted to green building, sustain-ability and LEED. Short for Leader-ship in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED is a third-party certification program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.
LEED certification validates a project's green features and verifies that the building is operating exactly the way it was designed to. LEED certification is available for all building types.
The summit's second day included morning sessions on capital outlay and funding by Rall and Diana Very, director of LSTA, Statistics & Research for GPLS; an introduction to radio frequency identification titled "RFIDo or RFIDon't," by Michael Imsand of Integrated Technology Group; and "Furniture: Fun, Funky and Functional" by Dan O'Dell of Hale Manufacturers.
Greg Heid, director of the Newton County Library, and Kathryn Ames, director of the Athens Regional Library System, then conducted a session aimed at helping Georgia libraries develop building programs. Heid has served as a consultant for public library construction projects for more than a decade, while Ames has served as consultant on 21 building projects, with five more currently underway.
Afternoon workshops included "Selecting and Working with Your Architect" by Scott Gordon of BRPH Inc.; a session on engineered wood design titled "What's Good with Wood?" by Stan Smith of APA, The Engineered Wood Association; a follow-up program on sustainability, "Green Isn't Just for Buildings" by SOLINET's Greenebaum; and a final session on space planning for libraries, conducted by Maureen Arndt of 702 Design.
"The summit is something that all directors and probably a significant number of other library staff members in Georgia really need," said Alan Kaye, director of the Roddenbery Regional Library in Cairo. "It allowed us time to immerse ourselves in the world of design and construction of public buildings, which is foreign territory for the vast majority of librarians.
"We finally have a full explanation of LEED certification for buildings and its importance in the future of communities across the state," he continued. "Also of critical importance to me was learning the etiquette of selecting ‹ and partnering with ‹ an architectural firm. The concept of linking a thorough community-needs analysis, a good long-range plan, an appropriate building program and a design-and-construction team makes perfect sense when you have time to discuss the process from end to end."
Claire Leavy, director of the Lee County Public Library in Leesburg, was equally impressed. "I loved it," she said. "The summit was exceptionally beneficial to me. I left it with a more comprehensive and professional outlook toward building programs and the processes that are involved."
"We must do this again, on a regular basis if possible," Kaye added, an idea that Rall greets with great enthusiasm.
"People certainly seemed interested in the subject matter this year," Rall said after the final sessions concluded. "They were very attentive throughout the sessions, and they asked a lot of questions. There's certainly no shortage of material to keep people captivated at future summits. There's a wealth of addition subjects to address, and the subject matter touched on this year is ever-evolving. Best practices change from year to year, and we have to keep up with them."
"Our mission at GPLS is to empower libraries to improve the lives of Georgians," concluded State Librarian Dr. Lamar Veatch, "and this two-day event is an excellent example of what we are doing to encourage visionary leadership and to facilitate collaboration, education and innovation within the state's library community. We look forward to sponsoring the Facilities Summit on a yearly basis."