Restructuring EPA's Libraries: Background and Issues for Congress

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Near the end of the 109^th Congress, some Members raised questions about the closing of several
libraries of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), expressing concerns about the continued
availability of their collections. Library professional associations and public interest groups raised
similar questions about access to this information. EPA reported that the closings were part of its
efforts to restructure its libraries in response to the agency’s transition from walk-in services to
electronic dissemination of information, as a result of the increasing use of the Internet to access
its collections. In response to concerns about this transition, EPA is refining its plan to restructure
its library network, and reports that it will not make any further changes to its library services
until the plan is completed and reviewed by affected stakeholders. As EPA refines its plan, ^th
interest in the library closings has continued in the 110 Congress. In its report on the FY2008
Interior appropriations bill (S. 1696, S.Rept. 110-91), the Senate Appropriations Committee
recommended a $2.0 million increase above the President’s FY2008 budget request for EPA to
restore the libraries that have been closed or consolidated. Some Members also have questioned
the library closings in hearings and in written communications with EPA.

Introduc tion ............................................................................................................................... 1
EPA’s Efforts to Restructure Its Libraries.................................................................................2
Key Issues.................................................................................................................................4
Appropriations........................................................................................................................... 4
Other Congressional Action......................................................................................................5
Table 1. EPA Library Operating Status as of August 2007..............................................................1
Table 2. Appropriations for EPA Libraries: FY2005-FY2008.........................................................5
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................6

EPA established a library network in 1971, a year after the agency’s creation. These libraries
house a wide range of scientific, technical, and legal information. EPA staff use this information
in multiple ways to carry out the agency’s mission, such as the setting and enforcement of
pollution control standards. EPA’s libraries also serve the public. Over time, EPA had expanded
its network into 26 libraries, operated by different agency offices depending on the specialized
nature of the collections. EPA began restructuring its libraries in FY2007 in an effort to transition
from walk-in services to electronic dissemination of its collections. As part of this restructuring,
EPA closed five of its libraries at the beginning of FY2007, including its Headquarters library in
Washington, DC. EPA also has altered access at some of its libraries that have remained open.
Table 1 indicates the operating status of each library in EPA’s network as of August 2007.
EPA reports that walk-in services remain available to the public at most of the libraries that
remain open, but that an appointment is required or preferred at some libraries. Certain libraries
also have restricted access to EPA staff, and only offer reference services to the public via
telephone, fax, or e-mail. EPA is refining its plan to restructure its library network, and reports
that it will not make any further changes to its library services until the plan is completed and
reviewed by affected stakeholders. The following sections of this report summarize EPA’s efforts
to restructure its libraries, examine relevant issues, and discuss congressional action in
appropriations bills, hearings, and written communications from individual Members to the
agency.
Table 1. EPA Library Operating Status as of August 2007
^{Library Location}^{Operating Status}
^{Repository Libraries}
^Headquart^{ers Washington,}^DC^{Repository Only—Library Close}^d^(10/0⁶⁾
^Environme^{ntal Research}^Cente^r^{Research Triangle Park,}^NC^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^Environme^{ntal Research}^Cente^r^{Cincinnati, OH}^Open^{to EPA Staff O}^nly
^{Regional Of}^{fice Libraries}
^{Region 1}^{Boston, MA}^Open^{to the Pu}^{blic—Appointme}^nt^Required
^{Region 2}^{New York, NY}^Open^{to the Pu}^{blic—Appointme}^nt^Required
^{Region 2}^{Edison, NJ}^{Closed (9/04)}
^{Region 3}^{Philadelphia, PA}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^{Region 4}^{Atlanta, GA}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^{Region 5}^{Chicago, IL}^{Closed (10/06)}
^{Region 6}^Dallas,^TX^{Closed (10/06)}
^{Region 7}^{Kansas City, KS}^{Closed (10/06)}
^{Region 8}^{Denver, CO}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^{Region 9}^{San Francisco, CA}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic

^{Library Location}^Operating^Status
^{Region 10}^{Seattle, WA}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^{Specialized Libraries}
^{Legislative Reference Libra}^ry^{Washington, DC}^Open^{to EPA Staff O}^nly
^{Office of Ge}^{neral Couns}^{el Law Library}^{Washington, DC}^Open^{to the Pu}^{blic—Appointme}^nt^Preferred
^{Chemical Library}^{Washington, DC}^{Closed (10/06)}
^Environme^{ntal Forensics Lib}^rary^{Denver, CO}^Open^{to the Pu}^{blic—Appointme}^nt^Required
^{Research Lab}^orato^{ry Librari}^es
^{Atmospheric Sciences}^{Modeling Divisi}^{on Library}^{Research Triangle Park,}^NC^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^Environme^{ntal Sciences Division Technical}^{Las Vegas, NV}^Open^{to the Pu}^{blic—Appointme}^nt
^{Research Ce}^nter^Required
^{Ecosystem Resear}^{ch Division Library}^{Athens, GA}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^{Atlantic Ecology Divis}^{ion Library}^Narragan^{sett, RI}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^{Gulf E}^{cology Divis}^{ion Library}^{Gulf Breeze, FL}^Open^{to the Pu}^{blic—Appointme}^nt^Required
^{Mid-continent Ecology Division Li}^brary^{Dulth, MN}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^Western^{Ecology Divisi}^{on Librar}^y^Corvallis^{, OR}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^Groundwate^{r and}^{Ecosystems Re}^storation^{Ada, OK}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^Divisi^{on Library}
^{National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions La}^boratory^{Ann Ar}^{bor, MI}^Open^{to the Pu}^blic
^Library
^Source:^Prepa^{red by t}^{he Congr}^{essional Research Service with inf}^{ormation from EPA’s National Library}
^{Network web}^{page at}^http://ww^w.epa.gov/^natlibra/^{libraries.htm.}
Although EPA did not initiate the restructuring of its library network until FY2007, the agency
has been assessing its library services for the past few years, as reliance on the electronic
dissemination of its collections has become more widespread. In January 2004, EPA’s Office of
Environmental Information (OEI) completed a cost-benefit analysis of its library services to ¹
inform decisions about how best to disseminate its collections. This study concluded that EPA’s
libraries provide “substantial value” to the agency and the public, with a benefit-to-cost ratio
ranging between 2:1 and 5.7:1. These benefits are based on time saved in finding information
with the assistance of a librarian. The calculated benefit-to-cost ratio varied depending on the
dollar value ascribed to time savings and the type of service provided. The OEI study also noted
other unquantifiable benefits, such as the higher quality of information typically found with the
assistance of a librarian. While the study noted the benefits of EPA’s library services, it also

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acknowledged the need for altering how these services are provided to respond to technological
changes in how users obtain information, as well as future budget uncertainties affecting the
agency’s ability to continue services in their present form.
In August 2006, EPA released an initial plan to restructure its libraries, with implementation ²
starting in FY2007. EPA determined that the utility of some of its libraries had declined as the
agency made more information available through the Internet and as heightened security at its
facilities led to fewer public visitors. Because of these factors, the plan recommended the closing
of EPA’s library at its Headquarters Office in Washington, DC, and its libraries in Regions 5, 6,
and 7. EPA closed these four libraries at the beginning of FY2007. As indicated in Table 1, EPA
also has closed its Chemical Library and has altered access at several other libraries that remain
open. These latter changes were not identified specifically in EPA’s original FY2007 restructuring
plan.
Although walk-in services are no longer available at the libraries that have closed, EPA reports
that the public will have access to these collections through the Internet and will continue to be
able to request items by telephone, fax, and e-mail. EPA also reports that its staff will continue to
have access to its collections via the agency’s intranet and internal agency exchanges. Although
many items in EPA’s collections are available through the Internet, not all items are in electronic
format. EPA is in the process of digitizing its collections and selecting paper collections for
archiving in agency repositories and possibly other libraries, including the Library of Congress.
EPA’s initial restructuring plan also indicated that some dated materials may be discarded. The
plan provided guidelines for EPA staff to determine how the collections are to be managed, but
did not identify which specific materials would be retained, disbursed, or discarded, nor the time
frame within which that process would be completed.
Members and committees of Congress, library professional associations, public interest groups,
and individuals expressed numerous concerns about the restructuring of EPA’s library network, as
the agency proceeded with the implementation of its plan and closed the above-mentioned
libraries in October 2006. Prior to the closings, employee unions representing EPA staff also had
written to the House and Senate appropriations committees in June 2006, expressing their ³
concerns about the availability of information needed to carry out the agency’s mission. In
response to this array of concerns, the EPA Administrator announced a temporary moratorium in
January 2007, prohibiting the agency from making further changes to its library services for 90 ⁴
days.
EPA has extended the moratorium, and indicates that it is reviewing its methods of delivering
library services to make its collections available to EPA staff and the public. EPA reports that no
further changes will be made to its library services until the agency has refined its restructuring
plan, and the final plan has been reviewed and communicated among affected stakeholders. The
agency has issued a draft outline for the next version of its restructuring plan, the EPA Library

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Strategic Plan for 2008 and Beyond.⁵ The draft identifies the agency’s objectives and the
procedures that it intends to develop to continue its transition to the electronic dissemination of its
collections, while continuing to provide “an appropriate level” of access to physical libraries and
professional library staff. What the agency would consider appropriate access is unclear.
Questions about the implementation of EPA’s initial plan to restructure its libraries have been
rooted in concerns about continued access to critical information needed to understand the effects
of pollutants and contaminants on human health and the environment. Although EPA states that
the restructuring of its libraries is a necessary element in its continued transition to the electronic
dissemination of information, opponents have raised numerous issues in regard to how this
transition would occur and how certain collections would be affected. Among the primary
concerns are which materials would be selected for retention, dispersal to other libraries, or
disposal.
Whereas EPA’s initial restructuring plan provided guidelines for these decisions, it did not include
mechanisms to oversee how they are applied, or a means through which the public could
comment on collections decisions. Questions were raised as to whether some materials that may
be deemed of value to certain users could be permanently discarded. Of the collections that are
retained, it is uncertain which materials would be converted to electronic format and made
available through the Internet, or physically archived. EPA also has noted that it will not be able
to digitize copyrighted materials in its collections, raising questions about continued access to
these materials. Increased use of the Internet for access to EPA’s collections also raises questions
as to whether agency staff and the public may need to rely more heavily on themselves to find
information. EPA more recently has confirmed on its website, cited in Table 1, that its remaining
libraries will continue to offer reference services to the public via telephone, fax, or e-mail.
There also have been questions about access to EPA’s collections while physical documents are
being converted into electronic format. EPA reports that documents selected for electronic
conversion will be catalogued and tracked while awaiting conversion, and that agency staff and
the public will be able to request these documents. There is some uncertainty as to whether the
time required to retrieve documents from storage may delay the availability of information.
Converting the agency’s physical collections to electronic format also could present technical
challenges in terms of the quality of digitized items, and in ensuring that the information remains
in a usable electronic format over the long term as data storage technologies change over time.
How these and other issues will be addressed in EPA’s forthcoming library strategic plan is
unclear.
The restructuring of EPA’s library network has received attention in the FY2008 appropriations
debate. On June 26, 2007, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill for FY2008 (S. 1696, S.Rept. 110-91),
which included funding for EPA. The committee recommended an increase of $2 million above

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^na^tlibra^/^E^P^A^Stra^te^gⁱ^c^P^la^nOutli^ne^ALA^F^ina^l^.pdf^.

the President’s budget request to restore the libraries that EPA has closed or consolidated.
Although the committee expressed its support for EPA’s efforts to make data and information
available electronically, it opposed further closures or consolidation of the remaining libraries ⁶
“without evidence of how the public would be served by those changes.” The committee directed
EPA to submit a plan by December 31, 2007, explaining how it would use the $2 million increase
to reopen the libraries that the agency has closed, and to maintain its collections in each region.
The House did not alter the President’s request for EPA’s library network, nor otherwise address
this issue, in passing its version of the bill (H.R. 2643, H.Rept. 110-187) on June 27, 2007.
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s recommendation would raise the funding level for EPA’s
library network to a total of $8 million in FY2008. As indicated in Table 2, the President had
requested $6 million, which would continue a downward trend in funding each year since
FY2005. This decline is largely because of reduced costs resulting from the closure of the
agency’s Headquarters library, Chemical Library, and the libraries in Regions 5, 6, and 7. The
decline also is due to reduced costs from changes in services at other libraries that have remained
open. Even though five of the libraries have closed, the President’s FY2008 budget request did
include funding to manage their collections, and to continue digitizing agency publications.
Funding also would increase, or remain constant, for certain libraries in the network, despite the
overall downward trend. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s recommendation did not appear
to alter these aspects of the President’s budget request, but increased the total amount of the
request to restore the libraries that were closed or consolidated in 2006.
Table 2. Appropriations for EPA Libraries: FY2005-FY2008
^FY20⁰⁸
^FY20⁰⁵^FY20⁰⁶^FY20⁰⁷
^Enacted^Enacted^Enacted^{President’s}^House-^Senate-
^Request^Passed^Reported
^$8,03^3,00^{0 $7,71}^0,00^{0 $6,54}^0,00⁰^$6,03^5,00⁰^$6,03^5,00⁰^$8,03^5,00⁰
^Source:^Prepa^{red by t}^{he Congr}^{essional Research Service with inf}^{ormation from the following sour}^ces:
^FY2005-FY2⁰⁰^{7 ena}^{cted amount}^{s, and the President’s FY2}⁰⁰^{8 re}^q^{uest, were}^{provided by EPA’s Of}^f^{ice of}
^{Congressional and Inte}^rgovernm^{ental Relations in a written com}^{munication on Ma}^{y 1}^{1, 20}^07;
^FY2008^House-^{passed amou}^{nt is}^{assumed to be t}^{he sa}^{me as re}^que^{sted, as the House}^{did not alter the re}^{quest i}ⁿ
^{passing th}^{e FY20}⁰⁸^Inte^{rior appr}^{opriations bill (H.R}^{. 2643, H.Rept}^{. 110-1}^{87) t}^{hat would fu}^{nd EPA;}
^FY2008^Senate-re^{ported amount}^{is based on an in}^{crease of}^$2^milli^{on above the}^req^uest^recommen^{ded by the}
^{Senate App}^{ropriations Committee in its report on}^{the FY2}⁰⁰^{8 I}ⁿ^t^{erior approp}^{riations bill (S. 1696, S.Rept. 110-}
^91.)
In addition to appropriations bills, Congress has addressed the restructuring of EPA’s libraries in ^th
hearings and in written communications with the agency. Toward the end of the 109 Congress,
some Members began to express concerns about continued access to critical information in EPA’s
libraries, and wrote to EPA requesting a status report on the agency’s efforts to digitize its

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collections, and urging the agency not to close its libraries or to permanently dispose of any
materials. Citing similar concerns, the then Ranking Members of the House Committees on
Science, Government Reform, and Energy and Commerce requested in September 2006 that the ⁷
Government Accountability Office (GAO) examine EPA’s library restructuring plan. GAO’s
examination is ongoing.
In the 110^th Congress, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held an oversight
hearing on February 6, 2007, to examine numerous EPA decisions, including the agency’s plan to
restructure its libraries. At this hearing, some Members questioned EPA’s decision to close certain
libraries, to reduce access at others, and to archive or dispose of certain collections. In the House,
the Chairmen of four committees, including Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Government
Reform, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science and Technology, wrote to EPA on April ⁸
26, 2007, expressing concern about the agency’s management of its libraries and collections. The
committees requested an update on the operational status of EPA’s library network, and
questioned how the agency was complying with its “commitment” not to close additional libraries
or dispose of materials under the Administrator’s temporary moratorium. As noted earlier in this
report, EPA has extended the moratorium until the agency’s new strategic plan for its library
network is completed and reviewed by affected stakeholders. How the new plan would address
outstanding questions and concerns is unclear at this time.
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