EPA History
Born in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened its doors in downtown Washington, D.C., on 2 December 1970. The EPA was established to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. EPA's mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment--air, water, and land--upon which life depends. For more than 30 years, the EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.
EPA Library Closings
In early 2006, the EPA budget revealed a proposed cut of $2 million in Bush Administration's FY2007 Budget that would directly affect and close the network of 27 libraries and information centers within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. SLA vehemently opposed this decision and took action.
SLA was the first library organization to express grave concern with the actions of the EPA when SLA heard the news in February 2006. As the EPA moved to begin closing the network of 27 EPA libraries and information centers across the United States, SLA denounced the proposal to close EPA Libraries. SLA members were encouraged to contact their representatives to voice opinions on SLA's Legislative Action Center. On 24 February 2006, SLA, in collaboration with AALL, ALA, & ARL, wrote to the Honorable Charles Tayler, Chairman of the Subcommittees on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies and the Honorable Norman Dicks, Ranking member, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies regarding the EPA proposed budget cuts. Read Letter. In April, SLA staff met with EPA Staff to discuss proposed closings. On 16 May, 2006, SLA wrote Senators Barbara Boxer and James Jeffords regarding proposed budget cuts. Read letter. In August 2006 the EPA began to implement their budget plan before Congress could approve the budget. SLA continued to voice concern over the EPA decision to start their closures without weighing the impact. In August 2006, SLA publicly denounced EPA's decision to close libraries before Congressional action. Later on in the year Congress began to take action calling for the Government Accountability Office to look in to the EPA's closures. Read Article.
The EPA continued closing its libraries and started to sell some their assets. On 17 November 2006, Democratic senators and one Independent wrote to appropriators asking that the EPA be directed, through the budget process, to maintain physical access to its libraries while the public is given an opportunity to comment on planned closures. The letter refers to requests made by SLA and other organizations. Read Letter.
SLA staff met with EPA officials on 4 January 2007 and again on 19 January 2007.
SLA continued to voice opposition the EPA's decision. In 22 January 2007, the agency agreed to stop closing libraries without further consultation. SLA CEO Janice Lachance sent a letter to the Chair of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator Barbara Boxer. The letter urged Senator Boxer to pursue agency officials, and to ask if they conducted the necessary research on the effects the reduction of services might have on the public's health and safety. The letter also suggested that the legal consequences should be looked into by the U.S. Justice Department about digitizing and impending use of the EPA's official documents. Additionally, the letter gave an account of SLA's involvement in EPA library closures hearing in Janice Lachance's blog. Read Senator Boxer's statement at the full committee hearing on oversight of 2007 EPA decisions. Read hearing testimony from EPA's Administrator.
Early in February 2007, warning that plans to slash services at the EPA's network of 27 libraries could threaten public health and safety by hindering environmental research, SLA urged the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to review EPA's intentions carefully and to encourage the Agency to develop a realistic plan and budget to provide continued public access to EPA data. Read press release. On 9 May 2007, SLA staff continued the dialogue with the EPA by meeting with EPA officials in an effort to clarify media reports that libraries were closing and materials discarded within the EPA's regional library network.
Read press release.
In March 2008, SLA provided comments for the record regarding the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight on the EPA. The comments specifically addressed the issue of authentication of digitized documents housed in EPA libraries that may be required in legal proceedings. Read letter. On 27 March 2008, SLA met with EPA officials to review the agency's report to the U.S. Congress on the future direction of its library network. The report lays out the general approach EPA plans to take for each library location to reopen, and establishes operational standards applicable to all libraries in the EPA network.
Read press release.
On 16 June 2008, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) distributed a news release, EPA Library on Effects of New Chemicals will Remain Closed. SLA was immediately in contact with EPA staff for a response, which follows below:
"As we stated in our 'Report to Congress," http://www.epa.gov/natlibra/documents/Library_Report_to_Congress.pdf
EPA plans to re-open the Chemical Library along with the HQ and 3 Regional libraries. Most of the chemical library contents are already in DC but those materials which had been dispersed to other EPA libraries will be returned and shelved with the rest of the Chemical collection. We are currently in the process of recruiting a full-time professional librarian with chemical information knowledge to staff the Chemical Library. The Chemical Library is expected to cover nearly 2500 sq. feet. This is in addition to the planned 4500 square feet and 4.5 full time professional librarians and library technicians for the adjacent HQ repository library.
The American Federation of Government Employees, in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement, has requested to bargain over the reopening of the libraries. Given that negotiations on these libraries begin tomorrow (June 17, 2008), exact sizes for the libraries will not be fixed until an agreement has been reached."
As information flows to SLA, we are committed to accurately reporting on topics of interest to our members. Information is often taken out of context or misinterpreted, and it is our goal to clarify current issues. Read PEER news release.
In July 2008, SLA and others wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works in the U.S. Senate and the Chairmen of the Committee on Science and Technology, Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the House of Representatives expressing appreciation for their continued commitment to reopen the closed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) libraries, including the three regional libraries in Chicago, Dallas, and Kansas and the Headquarters and Chemical libraries in Washington, DC.
SLA believed that the EPA still had not adequately addressed many of the necessary details to ensure that the libraries reopen successfully; specifically, that three important points, laid out in EPA's National Library Network Report to Congress, need to be further examined. Read letter.
On 24 September 2008, EPA announced the opening of previously closed libraries in its National Library Network, with walk-in access for the public and EPA staff. Read notice.
On 23 October 2008, SLA Public Policy staff members attended the open house held by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters and Chemical Libraries in Washington, D.C. EPA's Assistant Administrator for the Office of Environmental Information and Chief Information Officer, Molly O'Neill, provided welcoming remarks and tours of the facility were provided for all in attendance.
On 30 September, EPA reopened libraries in Chicago, Dallas, and Kansas City, in addition to the headquarters offices in Washington, D.C. Read SLA's press release on the EPA library reopenings.
SLA would like to thank all of the members who have written to their representatives and have given their input on this issue. Please visit SLA?s Legislative Action Center and Public Policy blog for information on current hot topics and ongoing issues that SLA is involved with in public policy
Here are more sources about the EPA closures:
Lawmakers say EPA numbers don't add up.
EPA official tries to allay library fears.
EPA scrubbing library website to make reports unavailable.
Read the EPA 2007 Plan.
GAO agrees to review agency's plans for digitizing.
Listen to National Public Radio (NPR) discussion.
More Articles about the EPA: PEER, ISTL Viewpoints, EPA Newsroom.
For the lighter side of a serious topic, view a cartoon on the EPA.
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