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Ribbon Cutting To Be Held For First LEED-Certified Library On Long Island

2 Comments

Southampton - Stony Brook Southampton will host a ribbon-cutting for its newest building - the first LEED-certified library on Long Island and one of just a handful in the nation – at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 10. It will be hosted by Stony Brook University President Samuel Stanley, Southampton Dean and Vice President Mary Pearl and Provost Eric Kaler. They will be joined by students, faculty, staff and government officials. The public is welcomed to attend. Tours of the building will be available after the ceremony.

The new Library is currently coming online, and, by mid-October, the environmentally friendly building will be open seven days a week.

The New Library's Green Standards
The building itself - its design, construction, furniture and operation - represents Stony Brook Southampton's commitment to sustainability.

Including stormwater collection for non-potable use; skylights to maximize natural lighting; other energy efficient lighting systems; a building designed to use fewer resources than a conventional building; materials selected for both durability as well as sustainability and limited environmental impact; furnishings that meet FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and Greenguard certification; and, overall, the Library achieves LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification through the implementation of green materials, systems and operational designs.

Its purpose was designed to be a student-centered space, completely wireless, and to be an "information commons" that encourages active learning, collaboration and group learning.

Home to the campus Writing Center; high-tech group work areas; a computer lab; testing center; flexible classroom space; private group study rooms; librarians and library resources; a vast selection of electronic resources; the distinguished Pollock-Krasner collection; and resources that reflect the culture and history of the East End of Long Island.

The library space includes flexible seating with two large comfortable seating lounges; a number of group study tables; a student-operated cafe; a projects-based learning enterprise for "green" business students; a community center for the Southampton campus; and a comfortable and welcoming place for students to work, relax, or hang out with friends (or a good book).

Events there will include a series of community and cultural events; movie nights; open mics, and student exhibits. East End residents will also be allowed to visit and use the Library's services.

Comments

Guest (Henning Bloech) from Atlanta says:
I would like to answer some of the questions raised by “K.Mitchell from New York.” 1. The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) was founded in 2001 as a not-for-profit organization to oversee the GREENGUARD Certification Program. GREENGUARD Certification evolved out of the AQSpec list program developed by AQS in 1996 to identify manufacturers and products that had been found to meet product emissions standards established by the State of Washington and the office furniture emissions standard established by the EPA for its headquarters’ project. While close ties exist between the two organizations, GEI is following industry-leading ISO Guide 65 principles to avoid conflicts of interest and employ the necessary checks and balances. AQS serves as a GREENGUARD Program Technical Partner as does TUV Rheinland LGA. 2. The program is called GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified!!! The great majority of environmental exposure from interior products is through the air we breathe. 3. GEI is an ANSI accredited standards developer, but has never claimed that the GREENGUARD product standards (VOC emissions) are ANSI approved. GEI does have an approved ANSI standard for Mold and Moisture Management and is working on product emissions ANSI standards. Furthermore, all of our methods and standards are publicly available on our website (www.greenguard.org) and are based on established standards and procedures including ASTM standards, California DHS section 01350, the EPA’s testing protocol for furniture, the State of Washington’s protocol for interior furnishings and construction materials and Germany’s Blue Angel program. 4. When GREENGUARD incorporated criteria for phthalates, we were taking a leadership role in attempting to curb exposure to these compounds when no other standard in the US was addressing the issue. It turns out that emission testing is not the ideal path. As a result, we included phthalate content criteria in our GREENGUARD Premier pilot. 5. Actually, GREENGUARD has published the ventilation rates and methods used to certify children’s furniture, as we publish everything we do (http://greenguard.org/uploads/TechDocs/GGTP.008.R0TestingofChildren%27sFurniture.pdf ) I hope this helps. If “K. Mitchell” or anyone else has questions about GREENGUARD, they can always call us at 1-800-427-9681. We look forward to educate parents on indoor air quality and creating healthy environments for their children. Henning Bloech Executive Director GREENGUARD Environmental Institute

Guest (K. Mitchell) from New York says:
There is a lot to be proud of here. But be careful, as Greenguard certification is apparently not everything it claims to be. They aggresively market themselves, especially for children's furniture, but check out these concerns posted by an engineer: "The overt marketing of misleading claims by Greenguard to uninformed audiences is frightening and unfortunately works against their stated intentions to improve human health. 1. Greenguard claims to be a non-profit; however they share a headquarters and personnel with Air Quality Sciences (AQS), a for-profit testing business owned by Dr. Marilyn Black. Greenguard requires manufacturers to conduct all testing with their for-profit laboratory. This is an obvious conflict of interest, with an unstated focus on profit. 2. Greenguard requirements only address chemicals emitted into air. They do not address toxic content. Much of children's exposure is oral and dermal (through skin). 3. Greenguard/AQS does not publish all details of their requirements and testing methods. There is no independent review or oversight of the technical validity of their requirements. Worse, they imply their "standards" for VOC emissions are approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) which is not true. AQS/Greenguard personnel have full and complete control over the proprietary Greenguard requirements, which they invent and change at will. 4. Greenguard/AQS includes requirements for phthalates, a semi-volatile family of compounds that appear to be endocrine disruptors -- these are the focus of much research and concern. Danish and US research indicates phthalates are showing up in dust, and are not emitted by materials the same way volatile compounds are (volatiles emit faster). Yet, Greenguard uses testing intended for volatiles, which has not been shown to be effective when detecting phthalate exposure. An assurance from Greenguard about phthalates is therefore very misleading. 5. The concentration of a contaminant (amount present in a lungful of air) depends on how much clean air is supplied in a space. Greenguard/AQS uses limits for contaminants based on commercial office and school classroom ventilation rates, which usually have much more clean air supplied. Greenguard does not publish the ventilation conditions for certifying children's furniture for homes and bedrooms. Therefore users have no way to know if the products exceed the stated limits in their own homes. Why would an organization focused solely on improving public health do these things? As an educated parent I am very concerned." http://www.kidstodayonline.com/article/CA669608 8.html Just when I thought things were getting easier to understand too.