The Top State Library Award Goes to the Hendrick Hudson Free Library in Westchester County: The New York State Regents Advisory Council on Libraries is pleased to announce that the 2016 Joseph F. Shubert Library Excellence Award has been awarded to the Hendrick Hudson Free Library for their being the first library in Westchester County to be certified as a Green Business. In mid-2013, the Hendrick Hudson Free Library began what would be a year and a half process to become the first library to achieve Westchester Green Business Certification. Westchester Green Business-Certified (WGBC) is the region’s only green business certification program that provides the tools, training, and expertise for organizations to become true green business leaders within their industries. Certification is achieved through visionary leadership, organizational commitment and the successful integration of environmental sustainability into all areas of operation. The Library was part of the pilot group of businesses (both for profit and not for profit) who undertook the challenge and they received their certification January 21, 2015. Participation in the WGBC allowed them to be a model for the community and it gave them the opportunity to showcase what they were already doing right while helping to find ways they could do more and advance the need for sustainable thinking as something that everyone must incorporate into their daily lives.
Now that they have completed the official certification process, the Hendrick Hudson Free Library continues to collect relevant data on energy, waste, purchasing and submit it yearly to WGBC. The Library has received recognition for its achievements in leadership and education in the field of environmental conservation and efficiency from the Westchester Business Council, their local public officials, as well as their County Executive.
The Joseph F. Shubert Excellence Award honors libraries or library consortia that have taken significant steps within the past two years to improve the quality of library service to users. For more information about the Joseph F. Shubert Library Excellence Award visit: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/rac/award/index.html
