In Smart Libraries Newsletter This Month:
How Green Is My Library?
by Tom Peters
"When it's time to renovate or replace a library building, that's a green opportunity. The harvesting, extracting, manufacturing, and transportation processes behind the materials used in the building,
as well as the building process itself, all have an impact on the overall greenness of the building project."
Addressing the cost and environmental friendliness of operating a building can be loaded with green incentives. HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning) systems come into play here, as well as lighting and overall energy use.
When thinking about energy use, you will need to consider everything, not just computers.
Photocopiers, the refrigerator in the staff lounge, energy usage by appliances brought into the library by patrons, and all other energy consumption needs must be considered. Then there are all of the things we put into library buildings—carpeting, paint, furniture, shelving, and, last but not least, the library materials themselves. In 2009, there are definitely green purchases that can be made for these areas. Be sure to look into the environmental impact of the product you're purchasing, as well as the company's environmental record."
Also in this Issue
- Dedicated E-Reading Device Update by Tom Peters
"Libraries of all types and library-related content vendors
should continue monitoring the dedicated e-reading device
market, gain as much experiential knowledge as possible about
the reading experience via these devices, and continue testing
library-related systems and services that will work with these
devices."
- Another 2.0 to Pay Attention to by Tom Peters
"Even if you believe that there already are already 2.0 times
too many things with a “2.0” label attached, the December 2008
release of the “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0” (WCAG
2.0, for short) demands our attention. These revised and
expanded guidelines were developed under the aegis of the Web
Accessibility Initiative of the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)."
- Inmagic helps organizations build Social Knowledge Networks
with Presto by Marshall Breeding
"In keeping with the ever-present themes of Web 2.0 and social
computing, Inmagic has launched a new version of Presto that fully
embraces these concepts and casts a new approach to knowledge
management, which it terms Social Knowledge Networks. Initially
announced at the Special Library Association Annual Conference in
June 2008 and released in late 2008, Version 3 of Inmagic's Presto
product has been enhanced with a number of features that enable
the organization to enhance and extend its knowledge assets through
controlled use of social networking technologies and concepts. Though
the growth of new features in the product extends only incrementally
beyond previous versions, the shift toward Social Knowledge Networks
represents a new strategic focus of the company and its approach to
knowledge management."
