Clifton Park — The Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library has been notified that it has successfully achieved LEED certification for its advanced environmental building design and operation.

LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is a program sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council that sets specific design and performance criteria for green building design and operation. Certification comes only when the completed building demonstrates achieved performance to original design parameters.

“The Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library is to be commended for achieving LEED certification. This facility is one that both the community and its customers can be proud of,” Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, said in a press release. “The Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library will be a showcase for high-performance, energy-efficient, healthy libraries, and an inspiration for others.”

The 55,000-square-foot Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library was designed by architects Woodard Connor Gillies & Seleman of Albany and assisted by a grant from the New York Energy Research and Development Authority. NYSERDA also served as an advisor on the project. The library received voter approval in 2004 and opened in December of 2006.

The library was one of the first green public buildings in New York state and was recognized by NYSERDA in 2006 for its energy efficiency. The library also received the “Outstanding New Library” award from the New York Library Association (NYLA) in 2007. Practically everything in the library was selected to be environmentally responsible: from the regionally-sourced brick and structural steel forged from scrap metal, to the window wall that allows extensive use of day lighting, to carpets made from bio-based fibers, recycled tires and plastic, to counter tops made from recycled metal and resins.