Be the We at Helen C.

College Library supports the We Conserve initiative by highlighting various efforts in Helen C. White and by encouraging users of the library to “be the we” and do their part to reuse, reduce and recycle whenever possible.

Last spring the staff of College Library joined staff in the departments on floors 4-7 of the Helen C. White building to learn more about how the building works and discover ways we can be more efficient in our use of resources. Working with We Conserve, we had a variety of activities, including: running an energy audit; learning about the HVAC system to understand better how to optimize our thermostat settings, meeting with IT staff to improve computer energy use; and sorting the building’s trash to see how well (or poorly!) things were being properly recycled.

Given the huge number of students who use Helen C. White on a daily basis, several improvements were put into place. New recycling and trash bins were installed throughout College Library with more consistent signage to help encourage proper disposal of waste and recyclables. Water bottle refill stations were installed on drinking fountains in the library to enourage the use of non-disposable beverage containers. Over the years, other efforts had been going on, such as the installation of motion sensitive lighting and double-paneled windows. We used Earth Day last April to showcase these efforts.

Now, six months later, we see an opportunity to raise awareness of the little things that every individual can do to help with these efforts. Why wait until Earth Day to draw attention to sustainable practices? In support of the campus Sustainability Initiative, College Library is sponsoring another week of activities to encourage everyone to “Be the We at Helen C.” Check out our Web page in which we highlight our efforts to date. We’ll be providing tips on a different theme each day. And we celebrate the accomplishments so far with our eyes constantly on new ways to keep improving and making Helen C. “Green”!