The books inside will still be made from dead trees. But there’s a growing effort to make sure Lawrence’s next public library is built according to environmentally friendly standards.

“We hope to seek certification as a ‘green’ building,” Bruce Flanders, library director, told the Journal-World on Friday.

The Lawrence City Commission will get a first look at the issue Tuesday in a hearing with City Hall’s Resource and Recycling Conservation Board.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Commissioner Boog Highberger said Friday. “From what I’ve read so far, it doesn’t have to be enormously expensive; there are a lot of things we can do that will have a quick payoff, in terms of energy savings.”

The recycling board and the library’s New Directions Task Force, which is considering ways to expand or replace the current library at 707 Vt., separately came up with the idea of seeking certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The council’s 75-page Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design code includes a checklist that awards certification points based on a variety of environmentally friendly practices that include:

• Building near alternative transportation routes, such as the city bus system.
• Using natural light instead of electricity to illuminate the building interiors during daytime.


Becky Sullivan, Lawrence, and her daughter Madison, 2, look through books at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt. Expansion of the current library or construction of an entirely new library appear likely in the next couple of years. Now two city boards are proposing that the new library be built to environmentally friendly standards -- part of an effort to change the path of all future city construction projects.

• Building with recycled construction materials.

Among the more innovative suggestions on the checklist: Cover roofs with vegetation to act as insulation and increase the building’s energy efficiency.

Cindy Strecker, a member of the recycling board, said in a memorandum to city officials that using such standards might add 2 percent to construction costs, but return savings of as much as 20 percent of construction costs during the life of the building.

“These buildings typically have better indoor air quality and more natural light, resulting in better employee health and increased productivity,” Strecker wrote, adding: “Savings result from reduced energy, water and waste costs, lower operation and maintenance costs, and improved worker productivity and health.”

Commission agenda: ‘Green’ building plans could reduce energy costs for library Lawrence Public Library

City Manager Mike Wildgen said City Hall had tried to be energy-efficient with previous buildings, but had never attempted “green” certification.

“We haven’t had a policy to do that,” Wildgen said.

Tuesday’s meeting might be getting the cart ahead of the horse. There’s been growing sentiment for a library expansion or replacement, but the Lawrence City Commission hasn’t yet given formal approval to any project.

But librarians and environmentalists are hopeful.

“I think any major public construction project — of the scale we’re anticipating — should have environmental conservation as part of its design,” Flanders said. “I think the community of Lawrence would appreciate that and support that.”

The commission meets at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.