Bring Un-Needed Eyeglasses and Crayons to the Library
Eye Glasses
Bring the eyeglasses you no longer need to the Addison Public Library. We have a collection box on the Holds Shelf in the lobby. Members of the Addison Lions Club will pick up the glasses so they can be reused.
Donating eyeglasses is a great way to be green and to help someone else at the same time.
Thank you to all who bring us eye glasses.
Crayons
Bring old crayons your kids don't want or use anymore! The Library is collecting them for SCARCE (School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education). When you bring crayons to recycle, place them in the colorfully decorated bucket on the Hold Shelves in the library's lobby. They will soon have a new life.
Whole crayons are sorted into sets for underprivileged school children, and the broken pieces will be remelted into "super crayons." To make super crayons, SCARCE volunteers peel, sort, and melt the pieces in a crock pot and use candle molds to form large crayons to be used by children with special needs.
Thank you to all who bring us crayons.
If you cannot locate the containers, just ask at the Circulation Desk.
Library Earns Earth Flag
On Wednesday, April 20, 2011, Kay McKeen, Director of SCARCE presented the library with the Earth Flag. The award-winning Earth Flag Certification Program was developed by the SCARCE Team to help businesses and organizations be more environmentally responsible. They helped us implement practical, eco-friendly initiatives and recognized us for our efforts as a friend of the environment.
SCARCE stands for School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education. Their mission is to inspire people, through education, to preserve and care for the Earth's natural resources, while working to build sustainable communities.
Our Green Library
The Addison Public Library, constructed in 2007-2008 and opened in the summer of 2008, was built using environmentally friendly features whenever possible. The green friendly features of the new Library include:
Site:
- Shared parking with Village Hall, Police Department, DuPage School District 88 administrative offices
- Use of snow/ice melt system to reduce need for salting
- Green roof system slow storm water runoff
- Re-use of pavers and statue from old Library site
- Drought tolerant landscaping
- Bike racks
Building:
- Use of local (within 500 miles) brick and cast stone
- Recycled content in ceiling tiles
- Low VOC sealants, paints, adhesives
- Bamboo flooring in the Internet Café
- Cork flooring the Quiet Reading Room and Study Rooms
- Natural linoleum flooring the children's program room
- Recycled plastic padding for all carpet (green soda bottles)
- Dirt collection device (Pedimat) at the entrance
- Low-e insulated
glass throughout
- Highly reflective white TPO roof membrane
- Green roof system cools roof temperature, prolongs roof life
- Preplanned expansion
- Extensive day-lighting
- Insulation values in excess of energy code requirements
Systems:
- Highly efficient boilers
- Energy-efficient lighting (T5 in most fixtures)
- Occupancy sensors in offices and restrooms turn off lights when rooms are unoccupied
- High degree of lighting and temperature control
- Dual-flush valves on all toilets (up flush for liquids uses less water, down flush for solids uses more)
- Automatic metered faucets in restroom sinks
Furniture:
- Recycled content in Meeting Room chairs (seatbelts and batteries)
- Most furniture "Greenguard Certified" based on materials and manufacturing processes
Green Roof:
A green roof system is a extension of the existing roof which involves a high quality water proofing and root repellent system, a drainage system, filter cloth, a lightweight growing medium and plants. Or simply put, a roof substantially covered with vegetation.
Modular green roof systems, like the one at the Library, consist of trays (modules) that contain a root barrier; growth media (soil); and drought-resistant vegetation appropriate to the climate. The modules were pre-planted in a nursery and shipped to the project site ready to install.
Benefits:
- Reduces storm water runoff
- Improves storm water quality
- Helps reduce the Urban Heat-Island Effect
- Improves air quality
- Creates natural habitat
- Extends roof life
- Reduces energy costs for heating and cooling
- Provides acoustic insulation
- Provides aesthetic appeal
Addison Public Library Green Roof Facts:
- Module size: 2 feet by 2 feet by 4 inches deep
- Weight: 15 pounds per square foot
- Area: 5,300 square feet
- Cost: $100,000
- Completed: April 2008
- Funded by: Addison Public Library and the DuPage County Stormwater Management Division's Water Quality Improvement Plan
Our Green Art Work
The Friends of the Addison Public Library contracted with two local artists, Irene Boutzarelos and Francine Nevers, to create a mural for the Quiet Reading Room. Their creation, "Chasing Butterflies," contains 80 different butterflies. It was constructed of recycled material and is an amazing addition to the Library's growing art collection.