EPA Gives Congress Library-Reopening Timeline

The Environmental Protection Agency submitted March 26 its EPA National Library Network Report to Congress on the state of the EPA National Library Network. The report noted that:

• The four libraries that were closed will be reopened by September 30, namely Region 5 in Chicago, Region 6 in Dallas, Region 7 in Kansas City, and the EPA Headquarters Repository and the Chemical Library in Washington, D.C.;
• All libraries will be staffed by a librarian and assistants; will contain reference and book collections; and will offer electronic services, interlibrary loan, and public access;
• The Federal Library and Information Center Committee has formed an advisory board that is working with EPA staff, advising on strategic direction library procedures; and
• $1 million in appropriations will be used to reestablish libraries, collections and equipment, and for a needs assessment.

The release of the EPA report came almost two weeks after the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee held a March 13 hearing about the 2006 closures. “No library should be closed until its holdings have been effectively cataloged, evaluated, and digitized,” subcommittee Chairman Brad Miller (D-N.C.) said, in apparent agreement with ALA President-Elect Jim Rettig, who expressed concern about “exactly what materials have been shipped around the country . . . and whether a record is being kept of what is being dispersed and what is being discarded.”

The agency also received two sharp rebukes in February regarding the library closures: a report from the Government Accountability Office concluding that the EPA’s actions were hasty and ill-considered, and a ruling by a federal arbitrator for unfair labor practices and acting in bad faith toward library employees.

Posted on April 1, 2008. Discuss.