[OPLINLIST] FW: [ALA-WO:345] EPA Libraries Update

[Kent Oliver]

FYI, Kent
-----Original Message-----
From: ALAWASH E-MAIL [mailto:ALAWASH at alawash.org] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 8:48 AM
To: ALA Washington Office Newsline
Subject: [ALA-WO:345] EPA Libraries Update


If you are unable to view this newsletter, please visit District
Dispatch, the Washington Office blog:
http://blogs.ala.org/districtdispatch.php. 
  _____  

American Library Association
Washington Office Newsline

ALAWON
Volume 16, Number 001
January 9, 2007




  _____  

EPA Libraries Update

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Over the past few weeks, the closure of several libraries in the
Environmental Protection Agency has given the library community cause
for grave concern. For background information on this issue, please
visit www.ala.org/epalibraries. 

Since first coming onto the radar in early 2006, the story has
snowballed into a genuine national issue, culminating in ALA President
Leslie Burger's article on the op-ed page of the New York Times
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/08/opinion/08burger.html>  (registration
required) and several other prominent pieces in national publications. 

With this ALAWON and blog posting
<http://blogs.ala.org/districtdispatch.php?title=epa_libraries_update> ,
we are hoping to bring readers up to date on what has occurred most
recently. 


Where does the issue stand today? 

For the time being, the EPA has halted all library closures and
recycling of materials. 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), under advisement from
several Congressional committees, is investigating the EPA's practices
in reorganizing and recycling its materials and shutting down some of
its libraries. GAO has been in contact with the ALA Washington Office
about how best to proceed in its investigation. 

What has ALA been doing about this issue in recent weeks? 

Since the publication of Burger's New York Times piece, staff from the
ALA Washington Office have met with representatives from the EPA on
several occasions. The most recent meeting took place on Thursday,
January 4, at which the EPA met with staff from ALA, the American
Association of Law Libraries (AALL), and the Special Libraries
Association (SLA). From this meeting it was determined that the EPA
would attend the ALA 2007 Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, specifically at
the Washington Office Update Session. 

The representatives of EPA - including Mike Flynn and Emma McNamara of
the EPA's Office of Information Analysis and Access - will be on hand to
discuss the recent controversy and the agency's move to digitization.
They will also be taking questions from the audience, where they hope to
dispel several rumors that have been circulating. 

The Washington Office Update Session will be held in the Washington
State Convention Center, Room 611-614, on Saturday morning from 8:00 -
10:00 a.m. 

For more information on this issue, please visit 
www.ala.org/epalibraries. 


  _____  


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