House Dems push EPA to postpone library closures

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DAILY BRIEFING

December 4, 2006

House Dems push EPA to postpone library closures

By Jenny Mandel

jmandel (AT) govexec (DOT) com

Four Democratic representatives likely to lead key oversight

committees next year have demanded that the Environmental Protection

Agency halt actions to dismantle a system of regional libraries until

the plans have been studied more closely.

In a letter sent last week to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, the

members directed him to confirm in writing by Monday that the agency

had ceased the ongoing process of disposing of some library records

and giving others away.

The letter was signed by Democratic Reps. Bart Gordon of Tennessee,

John Dingell of Michigan, James Oberstar of Minnesota and Henry Waxman

of California. The four currently serve as ranking members of the

House committees on Science, Energy and Commerce; Transportation and

Infrastructure; and Government Reform, respectively.

In September, Gordon, Dingell and Waxman asked the Government

Accountability Office to investigate the administration' s plan to

close part of the library system, and last month a group of 18

senators petitioned appropriators to fund the libraries long enough so

that the public could have a chance to comment on the closure plans.

The lawmakers noted that EPA's libraries contain more than 500,000

books and reports, 3,500 different journals, 25,000 maps and 3.6

million items on microfilm, according to a 2004 report. " It now

appears that EPA officials are dismantling what is likely one of our

century's most comprehensive and accessible collections of

environmental materials, " the House lawmakers wrote.

In August, EPA published a plan to change how it delivers library

services to its staff and to the public. The plan, developed in

anticipation of budget cuts, entailed closing at least three regional

libraries, eliminating physical access to collections at the agency's

headquarters library and blocking the public's access to professional

librarians.

The agency has said the plan will make the materials more universally

accessible and all EPA-unique documents from the closed libraries will

be available online within two years. A spokeswoman declined to say

Monday whether the closures would be stopped.

A staffer for the Science Committee, who asked not to be named, said

on Monday afternoon that the panel has not yet received a formal

response to the letter, but had been in contact with the agency.

The staff member said lawmakers were surprised that EPA decided to

move forward with the plan to dismantle the libraries without public

comment, given that the agency in the past has used a " fairly public "

process to make such changes. She said the lawmakers want to hear the

public's reaction and learn the results of GAO's study to determine

whether the closures make sense and, if they do, whether they are

slated to be carried out appropriately.

Spokeswoman Suzanne Ackerman has previously said EPA faces no resource

problems in digitizing the materials. " Funding is not an issue because

the technology is already in place, and labor costs are minimal, " she

said.

But the Science Committee staffer noted that there are other aspects

of digitization that can be crucial in determining how accessible

electronic files are. Every scanned document must be checked to ensure

it is legible, and must be cataloged correctly and organized in a way

that lets people find it, she said.

" There are a lot of things that go into maintaining access to this

information that go beyond just digitizing, " the staffer said.

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