I thought about posting this in the Open Thread because I'm more of a cut'n'paste person, but then felt it should get a bigger audience. So, I checked the diary tags and didn't see this discussed yet, and
Carl Pope over at the Huffington Post writes:
The reactionary campaign against knowledge and information is reaching frightening new heights.
Read the whole thing.
More below:
Carl Pope links to a
PEER news release dated 8/21/06:
EPA BEGINS CLOSING LIBRARIES BEFORE CONGRESS ACTS ON PLAN -- End of Public Access to Technical Holdings as Original Collections Shuttered
Washington, DC --The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving ahead this summer to shut down libraries, end public access to research materials and box up unique collections on the assumption that Congress will not reverse President Bush's proposed budget reductions, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). At the same time, EPA's own scientists are stepping up protests against closures on the grounds that it will make their work more difficult by impeding research, enforcement and emergency response capabilities. [snip]
The memo describes what EPA terms "deaccessioning procedures" (defined as "the removal of library materials from the physical collection") for its network of 26 technical libraries. [snip]
EPA scientists represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, had previously sent a "Demand to Bargain" on the issue, but EPA managers dismissed that demand as premature. The August 15th EPA memo, however, shows that the union concern was far from premature. On August 16, the AFGE National Council of EPA Locals filed a formal grievance demanding that all library closures be put on hold until affected scientists can negotiate the matter as required in the collective bargaining agreement, writing:
"After October 1, 2007, three Regions will no longer have a physical library at all. Library hours or core library services will be reduced in other Regions that keep their physical libraries open. Management has been insisting that it can effectively `do more with less,' and continue to provide the same level of library services to all of EPA's staff members despite the reduction in the number of library contractor staff. The Council is not convinced that this is the case."
"The central fiction is EPA's promise to digitize its entire massive collection, making everything available online someday, without any dedicated funds amid sharply reduced budgets," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting EPA studies show the cuts will actually lose money due to additional professional staff time that will have to be spent tracking down research materials now assembled by the libraries. "The idea that library closures are a purely budgetary move is increasingly hard to swallow." [snip]
"What is going on inside EPA is positively Orwellian," concluded Ruch.
Read the AFGE- Council of EPA Locals Demand Letter (PDF)
View the "EPA FY 2007 Library Plan" (PDF)
See the letter of protest signed by representatives for 10,000 EPA scientists and researchers
Although it hasn't been updated since January 4, 2006 FAS.org (Federation of American Scientists) is still a good site to bookmark.
Are we to November yet???
PS: I heard some sad news today. Max Mayfield will be retiring (next year?) from the U.S. National Hurricane Center. IMHO, he needs to stick around till Bush is gone, if only to make me feel more secure about reliable weather casting during this hurricane season.