This issue was diaried Friday evening, which is not the best time to contact officials. The Union of Concerned Scientists has a great summary of what is at stake, where things stand, and what we must do. Cutting to the chase, call EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson at (202) 564-4700, but go here first for some important tips. From the main UCS article:
The 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.
Members of Congress have asked the EPA to cease and desist. UCS is asking concerned scientists and activists to call EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and urge him to immediately halt the dismantling of the library system until Congress approves the EPA budget and all materials are readily available online.
The EPA administrator’s office is telling callers that the Union of Concerned Scientists is giving out false information. The office flatly denies closing the libraries and destroying documents, while telling UCS supporters that it is more effective to call Congress about this issue. See below for evidence of why these arguments don’t hold water.
Detailed Summary
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains a nationwide network of 27 libraries that provide critical scientific information on human health and environmental protection, not only to EPA scientists, but also to other researchers and the general public. The EPA libraries are located in each of 10 regions of the country, at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C. and at various EPA laboratories specializing in certain aspects of environmental protection.
In order to fulfill its mission to protect human health and the environment, the EPA must rely on accurate, up-to-date scientific information as well as the findings of earlier studies. To make the best scientific determinations, scientists need access to information regarding the health effects of toxic substances, records of environmental change over time, impacts on specific regions or communities and other issues. To this end, the libraries represent a unique and invaluable source of scientific knowledge on issues from hazardous waste to toxicology to pollution control. Additional benefit to scientific researchers is gained from the expertise of a dedicated library staff. In 2005, library staff fielded more than 134,000 database and reference questions and distributed almost 53,000 books, journal articles, and other resources to EPA researchers and the public.
In February 2006 under the guise of cutting costs, the Bush Administration proposed cutting $2 million out of the $2.5 million library services budget for fiscal year 2007. Such a drastic cut would ensure the closing of most of the library network, but would hardly register as a cost savings against the $8 billion EPA budget.
Despite the fact that Congress has not yet passed the 2007 budget or approved these funding cuts, the EPA has already moved with astonishing speed to close down several of its libraries to both the public and EPA staff. Three regional libraries, the Headquarters Library and a specialized library for research on the effects and properties of chemicals have already been closed, and four additional regional libraries have been subjected to reduced hours and limited access. Some books, reports and other resources formerly housed at these libraries have been sent to three repositories where they remain uncatalogued and inaccessible to the scientists and others who depend upon them. Other materials have already been recycled or thrown away.
While administration officials claim the changes are prompted by budgetary pressures, the existence of a dedicated library system has been shown to actually save money. A 2004 internal EPA report found that the library network saved over 214,000 hours a year in staff time, amounting to cost-savings of $7.5 million—considerably more than the savings gained from cutting the program.
Officials claim the closings are part of a modernization plan, and that all materials will eventually be available online. However, no comprehensive assessment of information needs has been undertaken—making it likely that some unique information will be lost—and no funding exists to carry out the time-consuming and expensive process of making documents available electronically. The end result is that the library resources are already unavailable and the promised electronic access could be years away.
/snip
Scientists and Congress Protest
Many scientists and lawmakers have spoken out in protest of these library closures. Four unions representing 10,000 EPA scientists sent a letter 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 called for a response from the administrator by Monday, December 4, 2006. No response has yet been made public.
UCS is asking concerned scientists and activists to call EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and urge him to immediately halt the dismantling of the library system until Congress approves the EPA budget and all materials are readily available online.
Myths and Facts: What the EPA is telling callers and why this is not accurate
Myth #1: The libraries are not closing.
The Facts: 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, Region 5, Region 6, Region 7, and the Office of Prevention, Pollution, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS). The EPA libraries website links to a plan of action 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.
/snip
Myth #2: No materials have been destroyed.
The Facts: Ample evidence exists that the EPA has already destroyed documents. The Christian Science Monitor reports that "scientific journals worth hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were thrown in dumpsters in October." An EPA chemist told the Kansas City Star that one library was told to throw away journals. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility uncovered documents ordering one library to recycle materials—"as many as possible." And the House and Senate letters referenced above also reference the destruction of documents.
Myth #3: Calls to Congress are more effective than calls to the EPA administrator.
The Facts: For now, it is more effective to call Administrator Johnson. Congress is already aware of this problem and has asked the EPA to cease and desist; the decision to stop the closing of libraries and the destruction of documents lies now with Administrator Johnson. Of course, if you wish to call your senators and members of Congress in addition to Administrator Johnson, you certainly should!
See the rest of the article for the written responses from the EPA, a thoughtful list of outstanding questions, and links to other sources of information. It concludes:
Special Libraries Association CEO Janice R. Lachance may have put it best: "With this proposal, EPA's leadership is making it more difficult for the agency's policymakers and the public to leverage the extensive knowledge found in high quality, accurate information to make important decisions on our nation's environment, potentially compromising the public's health."
Please call Administrator Johnson's office today to ask him to immediately halt the closure of libraries and the destruction of documents.