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The city has begun work on replacing the existing interior lights at the Pleasanton Public Library with new energy-efficient LED lights and upgrading the building’s outdated lighting control system.
Nick Binzoni, community and public relations coordinator for the Library and Recreation Department, stated in a press release that crews started work on Tuesday and that construction is anticipated to continue through July.
While the library will remain open while work is being completed, individual sections of the library might be temporarily closed while work is being done in those areas.
“The library’s faulty and outdated lighting is more problematic than a mere inconvenience. It disrupts our ability to serve as a welcoming place for community members to gather, pursue their academic and personal interests, and freely access information,” Heidi Murphy, director of the Library and Recreation Department, said in the press release.
“On occasion, poor lighting conditions have even affected library staff’s ability to perform their duties, such as needing a flashlight to locate and reshelve materials in the evening hours,” Murphy added. “We are excited we will soon be able to offer a brighter and more inviting environment for library users.”
According to Binzoni, the library’s interior light fixtures have not been upgraded since they were originally installed in 1988, which is when the library was constructed.
He said the deteriorating fixtures — many of which are completely inoperable — has been especially problematic for the library in the evenings and during the darker winter months because areas between book stacks and seating areas are left without enough light, which prevents people from browsing through the book collections, reading and studying.
Additionally, the building’s interior lighting controls, which were installed in 2011, no longer function properly and the library staff are not able to modify or properly manage those controls, according to Binzoni.
He said the original manufacturer of the control system is no longer in business, which means no one is left to service the equipment. He also said the ongoing issues with the system has forced staff to control the lighting by turning off the circuit breakers in the electrical panels.
“Eventually, as individual light fixtures increasingly became non-functioning, the remaining lights were left on overnight for fear of losing more fixtures,” he stated.
That’s why all of the approximately 500 fluorescent light fixtures in the library will be replaced with new LED lights, which aim to improve the light quality while also being energy and cost efficient, while the control system will be replaced with a new system that is currently being used at other city facilities.
“These new light fixtures will reduce the amount of energy used throughout the building by 54%,” Binzoni stated in the press release. “The new system will be easily accessed and operated by staff, coordinate better with the dimming capabilities of the new LED light fixtures, and offer improved zone control.”
The Library Commission recommended the replacement of the library’s lighting system as a priority project during the 2022-23 City Council Work Plan, along with the replacement of the library’s roof which was completed in May 2023.
According to Binzoni, the lighting project was approved by the City Council in January and the construction contract, with project costs estimated at just over $1.27 million, was awarded to American Wholesale Lighting.
Replacing the fluorescent light with LED ones will also help support the city’s Climate Action Plan 2.0 by reducing the community’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to Binzoni, in a large building where lighting is necessary for longer hours with energy efficient lights and with the new control system’s daylighting and dimming features.
He also said the project will advance the city’s ONE Pleasanton strategic plan goal to invest in the city’s environment.
“This project promotes the effective use of existing facilities through repair, with a focus on environmental stewardship,” Binzoni stated.
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