More than just a green building. Developing green strategies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library
| Published date | 08 August 2016 |
| Pages | 373-384 |
| Date | 08 August 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-05-2016-0041 |
| Author | Louise Jones,Winky Wong |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion |
More than just a green building
Developing green strategies at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong Library
Louise Jones and Winky Wong
Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose –The slogan “Go Green”has been embraced by a range of organizations including
businesses and universities in recent decades. Within higher education academic libraries, as a key
service unit in their parent institution, have an important role to play in supporting this mission. The
authors have seen many academic libraries strive to “Go green”by designing a green library, whether
a new build or renovation. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/app roach –This paper discusses how the Chinese University of
Hong Kong (CUHK) Library formulates, develops and implements its green strategy and how the
strategy has gradually reshaped its services. First, the authors consider how the concept of
sustainability has affected services provided by academic libraries, and why green strategies are a
practical and feasible approach. The authors then use CUHK Library as a case study, siting
the development of its green strategies in the context of, the University’s approach to sustainability
and the wider CUHK community, and ultimately the Library’s overall strategic plan. The third
section describes how the library implements its green strategies in different areas, from the daily
operation of library offices and services offered to users, to the planning of a library extension and
broader sustainability initiatives. Issues of evaluation are discussed and the authors conclude the
paper with future plans.
Findings –There are very few academic libraries in the USA that are Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design certified.
Originality/value –The authors argue that pursuing a green building may not be the strategic focus
for many academic libraries. In taking a more holistic approach to sustainability through practical
measures, academic libraries need to formulate and develop wider green strategies beyond a green
building. “Go Green”impacts not only the attitudes towards the environment but also changes the way
academic libraries serve their users and community.
Keywords Library, Green buildings, Green policies, Green governance, Green strategies,
Green sustainability
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The slogan “Go Green”has been embraced by a range of organizations including
business enterprises and universities in recent decades. Within higher education,
academic libraries, as a key service unit in their parent institution, have an important
role to play in supporting this mission. We have seen many academic libraries strive to
go green by designing a “green library”, whether a new build or renovation. The gold
standard is to achieve accreditation with one of the major green building standards
around the world, be it building research establishment environmental assessment
method in the UK, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in the USA
and much of Asia (Edwards, 2011), or Hong Kong’s BEAM.
However, it has been pointed out that even in the USA there are very few academic
libraries thatare LEED certified (Aulisio, 2013). We arguethat due to various limitations,
either financial or in terms of space, it may not be easy for an academic library to get
funding for a new build or for a major overhaul of their existing building. In this case,
Library Management
Vol. 37 No. 6/7, 2016
pp. 373-384
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-05-2016-0041
Received4May2016
Revised 7 July 2016
Accepted 16 July 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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373
Green
strategies at
the Chinese
University
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