White Plains Public Library Gets Green Certification
The White Plains Public Library is doing its part to make its operations more sustainable.
On Nov. 22, the library announced it achieved Green Business Certification status through the Green Business Partnership (GBP), a public-private partnership managed in part by Westchester County. GBP provides support to businesses and organizations interested in reducing their carbon footprint and making their operations more environmentally friendly.
“I’m thrilled to see the White Plains Public Library achieve this Green Business Certification,” White Plains Mayor Tom Roach said. “White Plains is leading by example, and the library’s latest achievement is one more example of that. Kudos to the library and the Department of Public Works for making this happen.”
The library’s Green Team, led by YA Librarian Kathlyn Carroll, focused on the library’s current performance in various areas, including water and energy usage, purchasing decisions and waste management. The building, which was erected in 1974, also recently underwent renovations, which significantly improved the library’s energy efficiency.
“In working with the City of White Plains Department of Public Works, we made many changes to make our 1974 building more green, including new LED lighting with motion sensors, a new Energy Star-rated HVAC system, windows that limit solar heat gain and much more,” Library Director Brian Kenney said. “The library created a cross-departmental team to further our efforts in achieving Green Business Certification.”
Kenney highlighted that while these efforts were a large lift, especially throughout the pandemic, they learned a lot about the building and its operations in the process. Now, Kenney said, the library is dedicating 50 percent of its materials budget to digital content, including e-books, e-audio books and streaming media.
Carroll underscored that the Green Business Certification process was extremely helpful in helping library staff scrutinize their practices and make more sustainable decisions.
For example, when people previously would come to pick up a book that was on reserve for them, a sheet of paper with the person’s name was on the spine — an amount of paper, Carroll said, certainly added up.
“We found out that our library catalog could automatically print a receipt with that information, so we bought new receipt paper that’s recyclable and BPA free,” Carroll said. “Now we’re saving a ton of paper, and we’re using something that’s healthier for staff and the public.”
Carroll said when implementing more environmentally-minded changes, everyone within the library staff was on board and worked collaboratively.
“It was really great being able to work with different coworkers in different areas of the building to figure out solutions that were more sustainable,” Carroll said.
The libary was inspired by Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, author of Sustainable Thinking: Ensuring Your Library’s Future in an Uncertain World and Executive Director of the Mid-Huson Library System, as well as green achievements of other libraries across New York, including the Hendrick Hudson Free Library, which was the first library in the county to be certified as a Green Business.
“Libraries are perfectly positioned to be leaders on the topic of sustainability, climate action and building community resilience in the face of climate change,” Smith Aldrich said, highlighting that because libraries are trusted institutions in every community, they can authentically engage with the community members on these topics and lead by example.
“It is no small thing to change the way folks think, and [White Plains] Library has taken the steps to shift their organizational culture to be future-focused, prioritizing the local and global community’s ability to thrive in the face of what’s to come,” Smith Aldrich said.
Moving forward, the library has committed to an ongoing green building program, with sustainability a major initiative of its 2022 to 2024 strategic plan. Each year, there will be a focus on green projects.
“I think it is safe to say that this initiative has permanently changed us in several ways,” Kenney said. “We look forward to continuing to make changes to support sustainability.”
Bailey has journalism experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties and New York City on topics related to LGBTQ+ issues, women’s rights, climate change, the environment, and local politics. They have been a full-time reporter with Examiner Media since July 2021. Read more details from Bailey’s bio here. Read Bailey’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/baileyhosfelt/
