Roe Jan Library is Green

The Mid-Hudson Library newsletter reports: "The brand new Roeliff-Jansen Community Library serving Hillsdale, Copake and Acram in Columbia County opened for business on Saturday, November 6th!  The new 7,500 square foot, $2.8 million library is three times the size of the original library and is on track to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified library in MHLS. The building boasts an array of sustainable, or "green," features including a daylight harvesting system, radiant heat, a porous pavement parking lot to control stormwater runoff, and plans for solar electric and geothermal HVAC. The use of green technologies will significantly reduce energy consumption, and the annual savings in heating and cooling expenses will help keep operating costs at a minimum. This amazing building is 10 years in the making, a labor of love for many, many people. Our hats go off to the Roe-Jan Board of Trustees, Library Director Carol Briggs, the staff and Friends of the library."


Like the Pleasant Valley Free Library, the Roe-Jan Library is a free-association library dating from the early years of the 20th century.  Also like the Pleasant Valley Library, the new building has been in the works for 10 years, but unlike our local Library, the Roe Jan managed to raise 80% of the $2.8 million needed for construction.  While they still have $300,000 left to raise, they have a beautiful new building and that should help them in the effort.


What makes the Roeliff-Jansen Community Library Green? The New Library Will Incorporate:

•   A geothermal heating and cooling system.
•   Solar energy, through efficient windows and photovoltaic cells.
•   Use of non-toxic, environmentally friendly building materials.
•   Water-filtration and building insulation systems that take advantage of our sloping site.

The Building Committee of the Pleasant Valley Library has been meeting with architects about a new plan for our Library.  We have learned that it may be difficult on our small site to use geothermal heating and cooling (although perhaps not impossible), but certainly the other "green" options are available.  What is more, New York State can help fund environmentally favorable construction. So there is much that we can learn from the Roe Jan experience, both in fundraising and construction.