EPA Is Hastily Disposing of Its Library Collection

[Eurobabe]

WTF is up with this? I just received on a daily thread from one of my research forums.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EPA Is Hastily Disposing of Its Library Collection

Resourceshelf has a report regarding the rapid destruction of EPA records

EPA Is Hastily Disposing of Its Library Collection

"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is frantically dispersing its
library collections to preempt Congressional intervention, according to
internal emails released today by Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER). Contrary to promises by EPA Deputy Administrator
Marcus Peacock that all of the former library materials will be made
available electronically, vast troves of unique technical reports and
analyses will remain indefinitely inaccessible."



See the order to destroy (recycle) OPPTS library materials (PDF)

Read the letter posted by an anonymous employee rebutting EPA claims (PDF)

View the email about inaccessibility of EPA contractor documents (PDF)

Look at the email from the manager of the OPTTS Library (PDF)

Peruse email outlining concerns about how library restoration may be
futile (PDF)

Examine the appropriations sign-on letter from Senators Boxer and
Lautenberg (PDF)

Trace the unfolding developments in EPAs drive to shutter its libraries

[Syrinx]

1. fix the links, and I'll come back and k&r :)

[whistle]

2. Just like the nazis near the end of WW II,burning and shredding

...and burying everything that was incriminating

[Syrinx]

3. yep

Remember the shredding truck at Cheney's place a few weeks ago, that Wonkette posted about?

[whistle]

21. Yes I do! The democrats need to move quickly if we really want

....to get hard evidence on these people.

[OneBlueSky]

4. got a link? . . . n/t

.

[salvorhardin]

5. Here's a link

http://www.resourceshelf.com/2006/11/22/epa-is-hastily-disposing-of-its-library-collection/

[Eurobabe]

17. thanks for the link, I just saw it on my

daily news alert from BUS-LIB, and there weren't any links to anything - me being lazy today, figured I'd just put it out there.

[OneBlueSky]

20. this is criminal . . . my tax dollars paid for the research . . .

that went into these documents . . . they have no right to arbitrarily "dispose" of intellectual property belonging to the American people . . .

[salvorhardin]

6. More information

The material in the OP's post originates from the Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility.

“By its actions, it appears that the appointed management at EPA is determined to actually reduce the sum total of human knowledge,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “EPA is not an agency renowned for its speed, so its undue haste in dumping library holdings suggests a political agenda rather than anything resembling a rational information management plan.”

Internal emails indicate that EPA official statements about the library closure process do not match reality:

• The only “unique” documents that EPA is digitizing are those authored by EPA staff. Thousands of documents written or compiled by EPA contractors will remain boxed up and unavailable, either electronically or physically, as the material has not been catalogued;
• EPA is spending more money closing the libraries than it asserted it would save ($2 million) from the closures. EPA will not release any estimates on what it plans to spend digitizing (a very labor intensive page-by-page process) additional documents or what it has spent crating up and shipping the contents of entire libraries; and
• In the case of the OPPTS Library, the collection is being offered to other EPA offices. What has not been immediately claimed is destined for the trash bin.

“The dismantlement of EPA’s library network has been directed from above without any assessment of the information needs of the agency, let alone outside researchers or the public,” Ruch added, noting that the Senate will soon be taking up EPA’s budget for the current fiscal year. “It is high time Congress weighs in before EPA completely destroys its library system.”

Senator Barbra Boxer (D-CA), the incoming chair of the oversight committee for EPA, and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) are leading an effort to restore EPA’s network of libraries during the current lame-duck session of Congress.
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=786

[salvorhardin]

8. EPA Library News Releases

November 20, 2006 EPA IS HASTILY DISPOSING OF ITS LIBRARY COLLECTIONS — Orders to Trash Library Holdings Stirs Protests

October 30, 2006 STEALTH CLOSURE OF PRINCIPAL EPA CHEMICAL LIBRARY — Unannounced Move Hampers Agency Scientists’ Review of New Chemicals

October 9, 2006 EPA SCIENTISTS LOSING ACCESS TO JOURNALS — Cuts in Subscription Budgets Take Scientific Journals and Eco-News Offline

September 21, 2006 EPA CLOSING ITS HEADQUARTERS LIBRARY OCTOBER 1 — Congress Asks for Review of Effects on Research, Regulation and Enforcement

August 28, 2006 EPA ENFORCEMENT THREATENED BY LIBRARY CLOSURES — Prosecutions at Risk from Loss of Timely Access to Key Documents

August 21, 2006 EPA BEGINS CLOSING LIBRARIES BEFORE CONGRESS ACTS ON PLAN — End of Public Access to Technical Holdings as Original Collections Shuttered

June 29, 2006 10,000 EPA SCIENTISTS PROTEST LIBRARY CLOSURES — Loss of Access to Collections Will Hamper Emergency Response and Research

March 16, 2006 EPA CLOSING ITS MIDWEST LIBRARY — Holding Will Be Stored Indefinitely; Public Access to Research Compromised

February 10, 2006 BUSH AXING LIBRARIES WHILE PUSHING FOR MORE RESEARCH — EPA Set to Close Library Network and Electronic Catalog
From: http://www.peer.org/campaigns/epa_library/news.php

[Trillo]

10. Well, look at the good side,

you know, be an optimist.

At least they're not tasering researchers.

[Liberty Belle]

7. kicking & recommending.

Despicable - what can be done?

[KT2000]

9. The only thing I can think of

at this point is to get it into the public eye - letters to the editor, informing others etc.
This affects so many agencies -
all health agencies; workplace safety; environment/ecology

Maybe state agencies will speak up because they defer to EPA for info on which to make their decisions.
Governors should be concerned too.

[bananas]

11. Someone give this another vote, please

put it on the greatest page before it disappears.

[no_hypocrisy]

12. Can't there be a temporary restraining order by a federal court to

prevent this destruction of vital records?

[cassiepriam]

13. The shredding started wholesale in Wash DC the minute the election

returns came in.

[cui bono]

24. Which is another reason why it makes no sense to have to wait

so long to swear in the newly elected.

Why does it take so long???

[cassiepriam]

25. Gives those exiting time to bury the bodies, finish robbing

the treasury, and of course shredding all papers.

[YankeyMCC]

14. k & r

Don't let the rats scatter and hide!

[Canuckistanian]

15. This is like the burning of the Library at Alexandria

In a technological sense. The EPA was a treasure trove of scientific research and observational data that was used by all the world.

One of the first acts of Congress (geez, that list is massive, isn't it?) should be to rescue the libraries and put in place laws that will never allow political forces to attempt this again.

It looks like so much has been lost already. Please work to save these irreplaceable documents.

[tuvor]

16. FWIW, I recall reading of this months ago.

According to this, it started in August.

http://www.alternet.org/story/44528/

[enough]

18. k&r

[drm604]

19. K&R

:kick:

[Joanne98]

22. Ground Zero evidence. Bye bye!

[GETPLANING]

23. Bullseye

Crimes were committed, evidence is being destroyed.

[MountainLaurel]

31. I think that's only part of it

On par with Ground Zero are the environmental crimes being committed every day by Bush's corporate friends against residents of this country, especially the poor. The EPA libraries, for many, are their only avenue for accessing scientific literature for free. Public libraries can't afford to subscribe to the peer-reviewed journals. And with the loss of these regional libraries, regular Joes and Janes won't be able to look into the poisons that are being dumped into their water, their air, and their soil.

[nam78_two]

26. K&R

:wtf: :grr: :mad:

[nealmhughes]

27. The news did break in August thru PEER. Here is my blog entry on the original

story and a similar attmept by the Harper govt. in Canada re:health libraries financing.

http://screechingrats.wordpress.com/2006/08/28/wtf-bushco-incs-epa-to-close-regional-epa-libraries/


How odd, I used WTF as the lead in to the title, as well! I guess sometimes one must simply ask "WTF?".

[The Backlash Cometh]

28. Bush is taking care of his corporate buddies.

This should be consider treason.

[Up2Late]

29. Grrrrrrr!

:mad: :grr:
:kick:

[DemReadingDU]

30. morning kick