Order Code RS22533
Updated January 3, 2007
Restructuring EPA’s Libraries:
Background and Issues for Congress
David M. Bearden and Robert Esworthy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Summary
The closing of several libraries administered by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has raised numerous issues. The President’s FY2007 budget included
a $2.5 million reduction for EPA’s libraries, $2.0 million of which was attributed mainly
to these closures. EPA reports that the closings are part of its efforts to restructure its
libraries to respond to the increasing use of the Internet to access its collections.
Although EPA plans to digitize certain materials, some items may be archived or
discarded. Members of Congress, library professional associations, and public interest
groups have questioned the continued availability of EPA’s collections as the agency
restructures its libraries. The closing of EPA’s libraries received increasing attention
toward the end of the 109th Congress, including a request for the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the agency’s library restructuring plan.
However, the funding and operation of the libraries were not mentioned in the FY2007
appropriations bill that would have funded EPA (H.R. 5386). This report examines
EPA’s plan to restructure its libraries and discusses relevant issues.
Introduction
EPA established a network of libraries in 1971 after the agency’s creation in 1970.
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 expanded its network into 26 libraries, operated by different
agency offices depending on the specialized nature of the collections. EPA began to
restructure its libraries in FY2007 as part of its transition from walk-in services to
electronic dissemination of its collections. As a result, EPA closed five of its libraries on
October 1, 2006, including its headquarters library in Washington, DC,1 and has reduced
access at four others. Table 1 indicates the location and operating status of the 26
libraries in EPA’s network, as of the beginning of FY2007, including the office within
EPA that operates, or operated, each one.
1 71 Federal Register 54986.
CRS-2
Table 1. EPA Library Status, as of the Beginning of FY2007
EPA
Operating
Library
Location
Office
Status
OEI
Headquarters Library
Washington, DC
Closed
OEI
Region 1 Library
Boston, MA
Reduced Hours
OEI
Region 2 Library
New York, NY
Reduced Hours
OEI
Region 3 Library
Philadelphia, PA
Open
OEI
Region 4 Library
Atlanta, GA
Open
OEI
Region 5 Library
Chicago, IL
Closed
OEI
Region 6 Library
Dallas, TX
Closed
OEI
Region 7 Library
Kansas City, KS
Closed
OEI
Region 8 Library
Denver, CO
Open
OEI
Region 9 Library
San Francisco, CA
Reduced Hours
OEI
Region 10 Library
Seattle, WA
Reduced Hours
OA
Legislative Reference Library
Washington, DC
Open
OGC
Office of General Counsel Law Library
Washington, DC
Open
OPPTS Chemical Library
Washington, DC
Closed
OECA NEIC Environmental Forensics Library
Denver, CO
Open
OARM Environmental Research Center
Research Triangle Park, NC Open
OARM Environmental Research Center
Cincinnati, OH
Open
ORD
NERL — Atmospheric Sciences Modeling Division
Research Triangle Park, NC Open
Library
ORD
NERL — Environmental Sciences Division Technical
Las Vegas, NV
Open
Research Center
ORD
NERL — Ecosystem Research Division Library
Athens, GA
Open
ORD
NHEERL — Atlantic Ecology Division Library
Narragansett, RI
Open
ORD
NHEERL — Gulf Ecology Division Library
Gulf Breeze, FL
Open
ORD
NHEERL — Mid-continent Ecology Division Library
Dulth, MN
Open
ORD
NHEERL — Western Ecology Division Library
Corvallis, OR
Open
ORD
NRMRL — Groundwater and Ecosystems Restoration
Ada, OK
Open
Division Library
OAR
National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory
Ann Arbor, MI
Open
Library
Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service with information provided by the Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations.
OA = Office of the Administrator
NEIC = National Enforcement Investigations Center
OAR = Office of Air and Radiation
NERL = National Exposure Research Laboratory
OARM = Office of Administration and Resource
NHEERL = National Health and Environmental Effects
Management
Research Laboratory
OECA = Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
NRMRL = National Risk Management Research
OEI = Office of Environmental Information
Laboratory
OGC = Office of General Counsel
OPPTS = Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic
Substances
ORD = Office of Research and Development
CRS-3
President’s FY2007 Budget
The President’s FY2007 budget included a $2.5 million reduction for EPA’s entire
library network, with total funding falling from $7.0 million in FY2006 to $4.5 million
in FY2007. However, neither the FY2007 budget documents issued by the Office of
Management and Budget nor EPA’s more detailed FY2007 budget justification to
Congress included a line item for EPA’s libraries. Although some have commented on
this “lack of transparency” in the President’s budget, there typically are many activities
in agency budgets and annual appropriations bills that are not identified by line items but
are funded as part of larger programs or funding categories. CRS obtained information
about the President’s FY2007 budget for EPA’s libraries directly from the agency.2
Table 2 indicates funding from each EPA office that was included in the President’s
FY2007 budget for the agency’s libraries, compared with funding allocated out of enacted
appropriations from FY2002 through FY2006. During this five-year period, EPA’s
library budget remained fairly constant at or near $7.0 million annually (without adjusting
for inflation). Of the $2.5 million reduction proposed for FY2007, $2.0 million is
attributed primarily to savings from the closure of EPA’s headquarters library and three
regional libraries administered by the Office of Environmental Information (OEI).
Although the President’s FY2007 budget included funding for the Chemical Library
administered by the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS),
EPA has closed this library as well, as noted in Table 1 above.
Table 2. Funding for EPA Libraries: FY2002 through FY2006
Enacted and the President’s FY2007 Budget Request
(in millions of dollars, not adjusted for inflation)
EPA
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
Office
Enacted
Enacted
Enacted
Enacted
Enacted
Request
OEI
$2.5 $2.5 $2.5 $2.5 $2.5 $0.5
OARM
$1.8 $1.8 $2.0 $1.9 $2.1 $1.1
OECA
$0.4 $0.3 $0.3 $0.3 $0.3 $0.3
OGC
$0.3 $0.3 $0.3 $0.3 $0.3 $0.3
OPPTS
$0.6 $0.7 $0.6 $0.5 $0.2 $0.2
ORD
$1.4 $1.4 $1.5 $1.3 $1.6 $2.1
All
Offices
$7.0 $6.9 $7.0 $6.8 $7.0 $4.5
Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service with information provided by the Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs.
OARM = Office of Administration and Resource Management
OECA = Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
OEI = Office of Environmental Information
OGC = Office of General Counsel
OPPTS = Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances
ORD = Office of Research and Development
2 Information obtained from EPA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations in
a written communication to CRS on October 18, 2006.
CRS-4
The 109th Congress did not specifically address funding for EPA’s libraries in the
FY2007 appropriations bill that would have funded the agency. As passed by the House
on May 18, 2006, and reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 29,
2006, Title II of the FY2007 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations
bill (H.R. 5386) included funding for EPA, but neither the bill nor report language altered
or discussed the President’s proposed decrease in EPA’s budget for the agency’s libraries.
Consequently, both bills would have left the funding level for EPA’s libraries to the
agency’s discretion within available funds. Later in the 109th Congress, some Members
expressed their opposition to the library closures in various written communications. (See
discussion under “Congressional Action” below.) The 109th Congress adjourned without
completing FY2007 appropriations for EPA and most other federal agencies. Although
H.J.Res. 102 (P.L. 109-383) provides funding to keep the federal government operating
through February 15, 2007, it is unclear how the resolution will affect support for EPA’s
libraries because this activity does not have a line item to use as a baseline of funding.
EPA’s Efforts to Restructure Its Libraries
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 inform decisions about how best to disseminate its collections.3
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
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 a plan to restructure its libraries, with implementation
starting in FY2007.4 The plan indicated that the agency had been working for over three
years to explore how to modernize and improve its library services. EPA determined that
the utility of some of its libraries had declined as the agency has made more information
available through the Internet, and as heightened security at its facilities has 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. In conjunction with these closures, the plan reflected a $2 million reduction proposed
earlier in February in EPA’s FY2007 library budget. As indicated in Table 1, EPA closed
3 EPA. Office of Environmental Information. Business Case for Information Services: EPA’s
Regional Libraries and Centers. EPA 260-R-04-001. January 2004. 21 pp. Available on EPA’s
website at [http://www.epa.gov/natlibra/epa260r04001.pdf].
4 EPA. Office of Environmental Information. EPA FY 2007 Library Plan: National Framework
for the Headquarters and Regional Libraries. August 15, 2006. 18 pp. Available on EPA’s
website at [http://www.epa.gov/natlibra/Library_Plan_National_Framework081506final.pdf].
CRS-5
these four libraries at the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1, 2006. EPA also has
closed its Chemical Library and has reduced operating hours at its libraries in Regions 1,
2, 9, and 10. These latter changes were not part of EPA’s original restructuring plan.
Whether EPA may close or reduce access to other libraries in the future is unclear.
Although walk-in services will no longer be 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 and 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 plans to select items for
digitizing, or archiving in agency repositories and possibly other libraries, including the
Library of Congress. EPA’s 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. Which materials will be retained, disbursed, or discarded,
and the amount of time and funding needed to complete this process, are uncertain.
Implementation Issues
Some Members of Congress, library professional associations, public interest groups,
and individuals have opposed the closing of EPA’s libraries, expressing concerns about
public access to critical information on the effects of pollutants and contaminants on
human health and the environment. Employee unions representing EPA staff also have
expressed their concerns to Congress about the potential impacts of closing the agency’s
libraries on the availability of information needed to carry out the agency’s mission.5
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 regarding how and when this transition would occur.
Among the primary concerns are which materials would be selected for retention by
the agency, dispersal to other libraries, or disposal. Whereas EPA’s library restructuring
plan provides guidelines for these decisions, it does not include a mechanism to oversee
how they are applied, or a means through which the public could comment on collections
decisions. Questions have been raised as to whether some materials that may be of value
to certain users could be permanently discarded and no longer available in any format.
Of the collections that are retained, it is uncertain which materials will be converted to
electronic format and made available through the Internet, or physically archived. EPA
also has noted that it may not be able to digitize copyrighted materials.
Increased use of the Internet for access to EPA’s collections raises other questions
as to whether agency staff and the public may need to rely more heavily on themselves to
find information. Some have questioned whether EPA plans to continue to provide
reference assistance through other means to compensate for the loss of walk-in services.
Until now, EPA librarians have supplemented walk-in services with assistance provided
through email, postal mail, and telephone. The extent to which these services will
continue is unclear, now that some libraries have closed.
5 The letter is available on the website of Chapter 280 of the National Treasury Employees
Union, representing EPA headquarters staff, at [http://nteu280.org/Issues/EPA.Library.End.pdf].
CRS-6
There also are questions about the accessibility of EPA’s collections while physical
documents are being converted into electronic format. EPA’s library restructuring plan
indicates that each document 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 at any time. However, it is uncertain whether the time required
to identify and retrieve documents from storage may delay the availability of critical
information. Converting the agency’s physical collections to electronic format also could
present technical challenges in terms of the quality of digitized items to ensure that the
information is transferred entirely and in a usable format.
Congressional Action
Although the 109th Congress did not address the restructuring of EPA’s libraries in
FY2007 appropriations bills or other legislation, the agency’s decision to proceed with
closing some of its libraries received attention by individual Members. In the House, the
Ranking Members of the House Committees on Science, Government Reform, and
Energy and Commerce sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on
September 19, 2006, requesting that GAO examine EPA’s library restructuring plan. The
Members noted their “grave concerns” about the impacts of EPA’s library restructuring
plan on the agency’s ability to carry out its mission, and questioned whether the plan
would result in budget savings, considering the benefit-to-cost ratio of the libraries cited
in EPA’s January 2004 study. These same Members and the Ranking Member of the
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure sent a letter to EPA on November
30, 2006, requesting that the agency continue operating its libraries and cease disposing
of materials while the issue is under investigation and review by Congress.6
In the Senate, 18 Members submitted a letter on November 3, 2006, to the Chair and
Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Chair and Ranking
Member of the Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies. The Members asked the
committees to direct EPA to restore public access to the agency’s library collections at the
same level that was available as of January 1, 2006. The Members also asked the
committees to direct EPA to “solicit and consider” public and congressional input prior
to any decisions to “close a library, cut services, or dramatically restructure” the agency’s
library network. On November 30, 2006, 13 Senators sent a letter to EPA expressing
concerns about the disposal of its library materials, and requested that EPA not destroy
or permanently dispose of information in its libraries and to compile and maintain records
describing the location and content of its materials to preserve access.7
Considering this attention, opponents of the library closures have urged Congress to
direct how the agency is to fund and administer its libraries. Because FY2007
appropriations have not been enacted, there could be subsequent opportunities in the
legislative process to address this issue if the 110th Congress so chooses.
6 Both letters are available on the House Committee on Science Democratic Caucus website at
[http://sciencedems.house.gov/Media/File/ForReleases/gordon_epa-libraries_09sep06.pdf] and
[http://sciencedems.house.gov/Media/File/ForReleases/gordon_epa-libraries_30nov06.pdf].
7 Both letters are available on Senator Boxer’s website at [http://boxer.senate.gov/news/
releases/pdf/2006/11/EPAlibrary.pdf] and [http://boxer.senate.gov/news/releases/pdf/2006/12/
EPA_Libraries.pdf].