Windows are seen in the J.D. Williams Library at the University of Mississippi, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014. The library is undergoing the process of tinting windows to both preserve documents and be more eco friendly. DM Photo | Logan Kirkland
The J.D. Williams Library officially opened in 1952, and the original windows are still in their frames today. However, thanks to the UM Green Fund, those windows are now more eco-friendly.
Buffy Choinski, the head of the university’s science library, said she and a “Green Team” had the idea to put a special kind of window tinting known as low-emissivity film or low-e film all of the library’s original windows.
Choinski and the Green Team purposed the idea to the UM Green Fund in January and in July the entire south side of the library had its windows coated in the special tinting.
The tinting was first used in 2013 on the large window that’s facing the Lyceum in order to block out the UV rays and protect the documents displayed in the foyer of the third floor. When people realized that area of the library had become noticeably cooler, it only made sense to apply more of this low-e film to more windows.
“We’re eventually hoping to submit a proposal in the spring to have the windows on the entire east side of the library covered as well,” Choinski said.
Choinski said that in addition to lower cooling costs for the library, many of the documents will be protected and preserved longer due to the fact that they are no longer being exposed to harmful UV rays.
Mike Ferguson, who works within the J.D. Williams library at the reference desk, said he believes UM does a great job of protecting its precious documents and welcomes any new methods they have to preserve the collection.
“The sources we have here are not easy to come by,” Ferguson said. “You can look online, and you might get lucky but we have to preserve what we have here. I think that any step they take to do so is vital.”
Along with a significant financial contribution from the Green Fund, the J.D. Williams Library also contributed funds with the Office of Sustainability facilitating the communication between the involved departments.
“We’re just excited to have so many people across campus who are working on sustainability projects,” said Lindsey Abernathy, project coordinator at the Office of Sustainability. “We’re here to help in any way that they need help.”
Choinski’s project was just one of the many proposals that the UM Green Fund gets every year. Anyone on campus can submit a proposal to be reviewed by the committee, which consists of five students and five faculty and staff members.
The UM Green Fund is taking this semester’s proposals through Oct. 17 and encourages anyone with an idea to contact their office.
