Libraries are invaluable community spaces that can be found in virtually every town in the US.  While libraries come in all shapes and sizes, there are a few things that they nearly always have in common:

1)  Incredibly dedicated librarians are keeping the doors open.

2)  Operating costs are  an ongoing concern.

3)  Libraries are located in some kind of physical structure.

According to the EPA, buildings consume 40% of the energy used in the U.S. and 72% of the electricity generated. There is a direct link between the amount of energy your library consumes and the annual operating expenses for your building. Once you manage your library’s energy consumption and loss, your utility expenditures will go down, allowing funding to be directed to other programs.

The recent blog post titled, Free Tools for Determining Your Library’s Energy Use, featured on Tech Soup for Libraries not only highlights the 4 Simple Steps for benchmarking your library’s energy use, but also helps you to understand how to use this valuable information to better manager your energy consumption and lower your utility spending.