Burger Urges EPA Advisory Council To Press Agency on Library Closures

-- Library Journal, 12/18/2006

Speaking December 14 to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, American Library Association President Leslie Burger offered some forceful comments on the closing of libraries and restricted access in other EPA library locations. Noting that the closings "initially took place under the guise of a proposed $2 million budget cut," Burger said that the agency now asserts—as in a December 11 teleconference—"that the process of digitization will help a 'broader audience' in gaining access to these materials." (The council was established to "provide independent advice to the EPA Administrator on a broad range of environmental policy, technology, and management issues.")

However, Burger said, "many scientists, EPA staff, and librarians continue to dispute this contention." She pointed out that the agency seems to have disregarded the tenets of librarianship, with "no outreach to the EPA Library User community." The closings so far include three regional libraries (Chicago, Dallas, and Kansas City, KS) and the Prevention, Pesticides & Toxic Substances (OPPTS) and headquarters libraries in Washington, DC. The regional library in New York City is expected to close on January 2. Burger said ALA fears the closures will lead to the loss of valuable information, given the dispersal of materials and the slow process of digitization.

"Without more information about the EPA's digitization project, we cannot assess whether they are digitizing the most appropriate materials, whether there is appropriate meta-data or cataloguing to make sure that people can access the digitized materials, etc," she said. "EPA also claims to have been following ALA guidelines in its reorganization of holdings. While we would be pleased to meet with EPA to discuss digitization plans for the EPA network of libraries, EPA has not contacted ALA at any point in this reorganization process." Burger also warned about limited access by users, since the EPA libraries may no longer serve as "a virtual National Library on the Environment" and not everyone searches on their own via the web but might want to use the help of the librarian. Burger offered some forceful recommendations, requestiong that the Council recommend to the administrator that the EPA halt all library closures, meet with stakeholders, stop dispersing and dumping any library materials, stabilize and inventory stored collections, and reinstate library professionals.