[Texgreen] Re:Fw: EPA Closes Its Libraries, Destroys Documents
Craig MIller
loveandrage@ureach.com
Mon, 4 Dec 2006 20:11:40 -0500
This is from CommonDreams.org
It may clear up some of the confusion.
Craig Miller
_________________
Published on Saturday, December 2, 2006 by the McClatchy Newspapers
Shutdown of EPA Libraries Worries Scientists, Advocates
by David Goldstein
WASHINGTON - Concerned about the kinds of pollutants spilling into your local
rivers and streams and how they could affect your health?
As the Environmental Protection Agency closes some scientific libraries around
the country, EPA scientists and other environmental advocates worry whether that
kind of information could become harder to find.
They fear that the agency's plan to save money by replacing printed resources
with digitized versions on the Internet could make information less - not more -
accessible.
"Nobody is against modernization, but we don't see the digitization," said
Francesca Grifo, a botanist and the director of scientific integrity at the
Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group for the environment and other
scientific issues. "We just see the libraries closing. We just see that public
access has been cut off."
The EPA has closed three of its 10 regional libraries, branches in Kansas City,
Mo., Dallas and Chicago that serve 15 states. EPA officials said that no
information would be lost and that public access would be improved rather than
compromised.
"EPA is committed to ensuring the agency's library materials are available to
employees, the public, the scientific community, the legal community and other
organizations," Linda Travers, the acting assistant administrator of the EPA's
Office of Environmental Information, said in an e-mail.
Travers said material from the closed libraries would be available on the
agency's Web site (www.epa.gov) in January and was accessible now through
interlibrary loans. She said EPA-produced documents from all 21 libraries in the
agency's network that could be digitized would be accessible through the
Internet within two years.
But the closing gives ammunition to scientists, open-records supporters and
members of Congress who think that the Bush administration is weakening the EPA.
An internal agency memo last summer spelled out plans to close laboratories, cut
senior-level scientists and reduce environmental oversight.
Steve Kinser, a Superfund project engineer in Kansas City and the president of
the local chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents the
EPA's professional employees, said the developments had made him look forward to
his retirement next year even more.
"Our ability to do our job is being tested at every turn," he said. "I don't
know if I can say anything more plain than that."
Unions that represent 10,000 EPA scientists, engineers and other employees have
complained to Congress about the library closings. Several lawmakers have asked
the Government Accountability Office to investigate.
In a letter Thursday to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, four Democrats in the
House of Representatives who probably will play influential roles next year on
EPA issues told him to stop "destruction or disposition of all library holdings
immediately."
"It now appears that EPA officials are dismantling what is likely one of our
country's most comprehensive and accessible collections of environmental
materials," they wrote.
The authors were the ranking Democrats on four House committees that oversee EPA
issues: Reps. Bart Gordon of Tennessee, Science; John Dingell of Michigan,
Energy; James Oberstar of Minnesota, Transportation; and Henry Waxman of
California, Government Reform.
Regional EPA libraries in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, San
Francisco and Seattle remain open, though some have reduced hours. EPA
spokeswoman Suzanne Ackerman said she knew of no current plans to close any
others.
The EPA also has shuttered its headquarters library in the nation's capital as
well as a specialized library on chemicals, with little or no public notice.
"They're really acting like their hair's on fire," said Jeff Ruch, the executive
director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonpartisan
watchdog group. "They're quickly closing the collections, boxing them and
shipping them to repositories."
Critics have questioned why the EPA is closing libraries to save $2 million when
its own study in 2004 found that they saved the agency more than $7.5 million
annually in staff time.
Travers said staff use of the libraries was down dramatically in recent years
because of the ease and speed of the Internet.
The agency isn't digitizing everything from the closed libraries, however.
Critics worry that some non-EPA materials might be destroyed, though EPA
spokeswoman Jessica Emond said that only outdated documents would be discarded.
But Bill Hirzy, an EPA chemist, said the chemical library was told to "just
literally throw in the Dumpster" a valuable collection of environmental
journals.
"Just throw them out," he said. "We managed to put a halt to that. It's that
kind of craziness that's going on down there."
The libraries contain scientific data on a variety of environmental topics, from
acid rain to wetlands. Trained librarians guide EPA scientists - as well as the
homeowner concerned about the construction project next door - through a trove
of reports, books, scientific journals, maps, microfilm and other resources.
Among their holdings are obscure articles and publications usually unavailable
on the Internet.
"We don't know which items are being tossed and which items are being saved,"
said Leslie Burger, the president of the American Library Association. "They
have 35,000 to 50,000 unique documents available only in EPA libraries. If that
information is not saved, it's gone forever."
Martha Keating, a former EPA air-quality expert who's now a children's
environmental health researcher at Duke University, said the library closings
and the boxing-up of their contents for storage reminded her of the ending of
the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
"It's like that last scene where the forklift is putting the boxed-up ark in a
federal warehouse," she said. "That's what I envision. It's something that's
never to be seen again."
Copyright © 2006 McClatchy Newspapers
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---- On Mon, 4 Dec 2006, vandame@pdq.net (vandame@pdq.net) wrote:
I just called Administrator Johnson's number and someone answered. When I
inquired why the libraries are being dismantled, he said, they are not
being dismantled, but are being consolidated electronically so they are
more accessible to the public.
I know that scanning documents can be a long labor intensive process so I
asked when it is expected all this information will be available to the
public on line. The person I spoke with said he did not know.
Is the person I spoke with telling the truth? If so, our approach should
be holding the EPA accountable for getting the project done within a
reasonable time period. Going electronic and paperless is happening all
over and has its environmental advantages.
If the person is lying, immediate action beyond making phone calls should
be taken.
Lesly Van Dame
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <moderator@PORTSIDE.ORG>
> To: <PORTSIDE@LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG>
> Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 7:23 PM
> Subject: EPA Closes Its Libraries, Destroys Documents
>
>
>> [An action alert from the Scientific Integrity Program
>> of the Union of Concerned Scientists
>> ucsaction.org/campaign/12_1_06_EPA_Library_Closures
>> -- moderator]
>>
>> December 1, 2006
>>
>> The EPA Closes Its Libraries, Destroys Documents
>>
>> The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun
>> closing its nationwide network of scientific libraries,
>> effectively preventing EPA scientists and the public
>> from accessing vast amounts of data and information on
>> issues from toxicology to pollution. Several libraries
>> have already been dismantled, with their contents either
>> destroyed or shipped to repositories where they are
>> uncataloged and inaccessible.
>>
>> The scientific information contained in the EPA
>> libraries is essential to the agency's ability to make
>> fully informed decisions that carry out its mission of
>> protecting human health and the environment. Members of
>> Congress have asked the EPA to cease and desist. Please
>> call EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson at (202) 564-4700
>> either today, December 1, or Monday, December 4, and
>> tell him how much scientists rely on data and
>> literature. Urge him to immediately halt the dismantling
>> of the library system until Congress approves the EPA
>> budget and all materials are readily available online.
>>
>> Update, 12:40p.m. EST 12/1:
>>
>> A few of hours ago, we told you that the Environmental
>> Protection Agency has begun closing its scientific
>> libraries. Several libraries have already been
>> dismantled, with their contents either destroyed or
>> shipped to repositories where they are uncataloged and
>> inaccessible.
>>
>> Calls are already flooding in and we're having an
>> effect. Please keep those calls coming! Call EPA
>> Administrator Stephen Johnson at (202) 564-4700 either
>> today or Monday and tell him how much scientists rely on
>> data and literature. Urge him to immediately halt the
>> dismantling of the library system until Congress
>> approves the EPA budget and all materials are readily
>> available online. Click here to tell us the results of
>> your call.
>>
>> Unfortunately, we're receiving reports that the EPA is
>> claiming that the Union of Concerned Scientists has
>> false information and that none of the libraries have
>> been closed. Significant evidence proves otherwise.
>>
>> The Evidence
>>
>> On the EPA's own library website, the five libraries
>> that have been closed to date have been removed from the
>> list and had their websites partially or completely shut
>> down:
>>
>> the Headquarters Library
>> http://www.epa.gov/natlibra/hqirc/
>>
>> Region 5
>> http://ucsaction.org/ct/ld_rfsY1QmhD/
>>
>> Region 6
>> http://ucsaction.org/ct/o1_rfsY1QmhH/
>>
>> Region 7
>> http://www.epa.gov/region7/citizens/irc/index.htm
>>
>> and the Office of Prevention, Pollution, and Toxic
>> Substances (OPPTS)
>> http://ucsaction.org/ct/l1_rfsY1QmhJ/.
>>
>> The EPA libraries website links to a plan of action
>> (http://ucsaction.org/ct/od_rfsY1QmhG/) for closing many
>> libraries and dispersing or disposing of materials. We
>> also have first-hand accounts from EPA employees that
>> the libraries have been closed.
>>
>> The four EPA employees unions have sent a letter
>> (http://ucsaction.org/ct/lp_rfsY1QmhZ/) asking Congress
>> to stop the destruction of the library network. A letter
>> from Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA), Bart Gordon
>> (D-TN) and John Dingell (D-MI) has prompted an
>> investigation of the library system by the General
>> Accountability Office, the investigative arm of
>> Congress. And members of both the House and Senate have
>> called upon Administrator Johnson to cease and desist
>> with the closures until the investigation is complete
>> and Congress has authorized action; the House letter
>> calls for a response from the administrator by Monday,
>> December 4, 2006.
>>
>> Also, several newspapers have reported or editorialized
>> about the library closures, including the Boston Globe
>> (http://ucsaction.org/ct/97_rfsY1QmhY/), the Christian
>> Science Monitor (http://ucsaction.org/ct/9p_rfsY1QmhT/),
>> and Cox Newspapers (ucsaction.org/ct/9d_rfsY1QmhR/).
>> Additional information is provided by the American
>> Library Association (ucsaction.org/ct/91_rfsY1QmhQ/)
>> and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
>> (http://ucsaction.org/ct/l7_rfsY1QmhK/).
>>
>> These are large agencies; it is not uncommon for an
>> agency to go into complete denial when confronted with
>> questions such as the ones we are asking. However, this
>> only underscores the importance of putting the
>> administrator's office on notice that we are watching
>> and will hold them accountable.
>>
>> Please call EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson at (202)
>> 564-4700 either today or Monday. Click here
>> (http://ucsaction.org/ct/f1_rfsY1Qmyg/) to tell us the
>> results of your call.
>>
>> We will update you on the progress of this effort next
>> week on our website.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Michael Halpern
>> National Field Organizer
>> Scientific Integrity Program
>>
>> _____________________________________________
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