13 novembre, 2006 16:28
Boxer Leads Senators In Call For Restored Access To Epa Libraries
Author: Boxer Office
Published on Nov 3, 2006, 14:03
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today led a group of Senators in a letter to senior members of the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting that the Committee direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to restore and maintain public access to its library collections.
Despite an EPA report in 2004 showing that the monetary benefits of operating EPA libraries far outweigh the costs, the agency is shutting down libraries across the country that hold valuable information on important public health and environmental issues. Boxer's letter, co-signed by 17 of her colleagues, requests that EPA maintain its library services and solicit and consider public and Congressional input on its plans for cuts.
Senator Boxer said, "The Administration's efforts to shut down public access to critical environmental information by closing EPA libraries is just one more attempt by the Administration to cover-up its negligent handling of environmental protection and should not stand."
Boxer's letter was cosigned by Senators Frank Lautenberg, Tom Harkin, Richard Durbin, Maria Cantwell, Jack Reed, James Jeffords, Barack Obama, Ken Salazar, Max Baucus, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, Jeff Bingaman, Edward Kennedy, Russ Feingold, Paul Sarbanes, Mark Dayton, and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The text of the letter follows:
Dear Colleague:
We are writing to request that you direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to restore and maintain public access and onsite library collections and services at EPA's headquarters, regional, laboratory, and specialized program libraries while the Agency solicits and considers public input on its plan to drastically cut its library budget and services. Government representatives, businesses and citizens use information in these libraries to protect public health, enforce environmental laws, and promote sound decision-making. We are concerned that EPA is already dismantling its unique library system without including the public or Members of Congress in the decision-making. Congress should not allow EPA to gut its library system, which plays a critical role in supporting the Agency's mission to protect the environment and public health.
EPA has already eliminated or reduced library service to the public in seven EPA regions covering 31 states and is planning to close its Headquarters' library and maintain it only as a repository. (Attachment) EPA has also closed its pesticide and toxics program library, reducing access to unique materials needed to assess pesticides and other chemicals' potential health effects on children. EPA is implementing these devastating closures on the grounds that they expect to save $2 million.
EPA's libraries provide far more benefits than the minor cost reductions resulting from their closure. A 2004 EPA report found that "[c]alculated conservatively, the benefit-to-cost ratio for EPA library services ranges between 2:1 and 5.7:1." The report noted that libraries saved EPA professional staff $7.5 million and non-EPA personnel $2.8 million, in 2003; and that one-third of the libraries' work gave EPA $22 million in benefits.
The American Library Association, American Association of Law Libraries, and Special Library Association strongly oppose the cuts, pointing out that EPA has "unique collections, including an estimated 50,000 one-of-a-kind primary source documents that are available nowhere else." Notes provided by the American Library Association that recount a meeting with EPA on the library closures state that their warnings that the Agency should develop a new system before closing libraries "fell on deaf ears." Unions representing 10,000 EPA scientists, engineers, and other staff have similar concerns. They note that "[t]he ability of EPA to respond to emergencies will be reduced because important reference materials may be unavailable or take significant time to receive from storage or another library."
A document from EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) about the library restructuring expresses concern about the Agency's failure to adequately assess costs and funding needs, maintain critical information, and ensure data accessibility. OECA notes that the libraries have information important to specific regions, states and locales, and unique data on industrial processes and analytical methods. OECA has indicated that it fears that dispersal of this material without proper tracking and access could undercut rulemakings and the ability to "substantiate and support findings, determinations, and guidance."
We are extremely troubled that EPA is rushing to eliminate or reduce library operations without adequately consulting Congress or the public. We respectfully request that you direct EPA in the FY 2007 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill to restore and maintain public access and onsite library collections and services at EPA's headquarters, regional, laboratory, and specialized program libraries to the status they held as of January 1, 2006. We also ask that you direct EPA to solicit and consider public and Congressional input, in an open process, prior to making any decision to close a library, cut services, or dramatically restructure the Agency's library system.
Related articles:
Stealth Closure of Principal EPA Chemical Library
EPA Scientists Losing Access to Journals
EPA Closing Its Headquarters Library October 1
EPA Begins Closing Libraries Before Congress Acts on Plan.
EPA Employee Responds to Official Spin on Library Closures
EPA's response: EPA expanding library info access.
Latest update on closures: EPA Enforcement Threatened by Library Closures
EPA Employee Calls Deputy Administrator's Statement on Library Closures "Misleading"
