There has been talk on this list about how to spend money relicensing
copyrighted materials under a free license.
Access and true freedom of information requires more than a free license.
It requires transparent and effective indexing, physical access to
original sources, classification and other infrastructure.
I mentioned the EPA library catastrophe -- a slow breakdown of one of our
truly free library and archival institutions -- earlier this year.
http://www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports/2006_09_25.html#002482
An update follows. Please contact your Senators by the end of the
month to ask them to support the Boxer-Lautenberg letter.
--SJ
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washnews/news.htm
American Library Association Washington Office
Newsline
ALAWON Volume 15, Number 115 DATE : October 26, 2006
________________________________
Save EPA Libraries!
________________________________
CALL BOTH OF YOUR SENATORS IMMEDIATELY AND ASK THEM TO SIGN ONTO the
Boxer- Lautenberg "Dear Colleague" letter asking the Senate Appropriations
Committee to direct EPA to maintain access and research expertise at ALL
of EPA's regional and headquarter libraries until the Agency solicits
adequate public and Congressional input.
Background:
<
Senators Barbara Boxer and Frank Lautenberg have
drafted a letter to the
Senate Appropriations Committee stating their concern that EPA is dismantling
their unique library system (see below).
<
As you know, the government, business and the general
public depend on
EPA's libraries to conduct research critical to protecting public health,
enforcing environmental laws, and promoting sound economic, land-use planning
and other decisions. Closure of these facilities will
severely limit, and in some cases eliminate, the information resources needed
by those investigating issues critical to environmental safety and health.
Although EPA's FY2007 budget hasn't been passed yet, this year EPA has
already eliminated or reduced library service covering 31 states (see
list below below ).
ACTION
<
CALL BOTH OF YOUR SENATORS TODAY AND ASK THEM TO SIGN
ONTO
< the Boxer-Lautenberg "Dear Colleague" letter! The letter asks
the
< Appropriators to direct EPA to maintain access and research expertise
< at all of EPA's regional and headquarter libraries until the Agency
< solicits adequate public and Congressional input.
<
The deadline for signing the letter is November 1st,
so call today! Tell
your Senator's Office that they can arrange to sign the letter by
calling Grant Cope (4-7931) or Daniel Rosenberg (4-7225) and that they must
do so before November 1st.
Letter to Senate Appropriations Committee:
October 26, 2006
Honorable Thad Cochran, Chair Appropriations Committee U.S. Senate
Honorable Conrad Burns, Chair Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on
Interior and Related Agencies U.S. Senate Honorable Robert C. Byrd, Ranking
Member Appropriations Committee U.S. Senate
Honorable Byron Dorgan, Ranking Member Appropriations Committee Subcommittee
on Interior and Related Agencies U.S. Senate
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.
<
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer Frank R. Lautenberg
United States Senator United States Senator
<
CC: Senator Ted Stevens Senator Arlen Specter Senator
Pete Domenici Senator
Christopher Bond Senator Mitch McConnell Senator Richard Shelby Senator Judd
Gregg Senator Robert Bennett Senator Larry Craig Senator Kay Bailey
Hutchinson Senator Mike DeWine Senator Sam Brownback Senator Wayne Allard
Senator Daniel Inouye Senator Patrick Leahy Senator Tom Harkin Senator
Barbara Mikulski Senator Harry Reid Senator Herb Kohl Senator Patty Murray
Senator Dianne Feinstein Senator Richard Durbin Senator Tim Johnson Senator
Mary Landrieu
Status of EPA Regional Library Closures and Reductions in Service:
(Specialized Libraries Not Included)
1. Closed
< * Region 5, which served Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
< Ohio, and Wisconsin.
< * Region 6, which serves Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,
< Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa.
< * Region 7, which serves Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.
<
2. Closed to the Public with Reduced Hours to EPA
Staff
< * Region 2 Library, which served New York, New Jersey, Puerto
< Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
<
< 3. Reduced Access to EPA Staff and the Public
< * Region 1, which serves Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine,
< New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
< * Region 9, which serves Arizona, California, Hawaii,
< Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and Tribal Nations.
< * Region 10, which serves Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington,
< and Native Tribes.
< * EPA Headquarters
________________________________
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