Congress Directs EPA to Re-Open its Libraries

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Congress Directs EPA to Re-Open its Libraries

For Immediate Release: Friday, December 21, 2007
Contact: Jeff Ruch (202) 265-7337 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Earmarks Money for Restoration of Library Services

Buried within the omnibus appropriations bill Congress sent this week to President Bush is a Christmas present for the beleaguered library network of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Congress ordered EPA to restore library services across the country and earmarked $3 million for that purpose, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

Beginning in early 2006, without public announcement or congressional approval, EPA began dismantling its network of technical and research libraries. Altogether EPA has closed regional libraries serving 23 states and its headquarters library in Washington, D.C. It has also reduced services and hours in libraries covering another 14 states. In addition, EPA has shuttered several of its specialized, technical libraries, such as its unique library dedicated to the effects of pesticides and new chemicals.

The report language attached to the omnibus appropriations bill for the remainder of the 2008 fiscal year directs EPA to use $3 million to "restore the network of EPA libraries recently closed or consolidated by the Administration…" and to report within 90 days on its plans to "restore publicly available libraries to provide environmental information and data to each EPA region…"

"The EPA libraries are not only important to the public but are invaluable tools for the agency's own scientists and specialists," stated PEER Associate Director Carol Goldberg, pointing to a petition signed by the representatives for more than half of all EPA scientists protesting the closures. "While the intervention of Congress is most welcome, it comes after several closures and much disruption, leaving the remaining EPA librarians with the task of putting Humpty Dumpty back together again."

Prior to the closures, the budget for the EPA library network was $2.5 million. By earmarking $3 million, Congress increased the total library budget, allowing the agency to absorb the expense of collecting dispersed collections and replacing jettisoned facilities. For example, EPA closed its largest regional library in Chicago and sold all of its fixtures, valued at more than $40,000, for less than $350.

The rationale for the library closures was never clearly spelled out by the agency, which maintained that it wanted to digitize all of its holdings. Its original claim of cost savings did not bear up under scrutiny and clashed with the enormous expense of digitizing hundreds of thousands of documents. In addition, the agency did not anticipated copyright restrictions, which barred many of its holdings from being digitized.

"We have already been contacted by EPA librarians who are concerned that the same officials who destroyed the libraries will be in charge of their restoration," added Goldberg. "We hope that Congress continues to closely oversee whether EPA fully restores the full range of library services it had provided."

While many congressional earmarks have drawn negative attention for funding what are called "pork" projects, other earmarks act as congressional checks on executive abuses. "This is one earmark that all Americans should applaud," Goldberg concluded.

Alamosa Needled by Golden Compass

The debate raging in some Canadian school dioceses over the presence of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass on media center shelves has expanded from Canada to the United States, where a public school in Alamosa, Colorado, briefly removed the book in November and a Catholic school in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is in the process of reconsidering it.
It was Alamosa’s Ortega Middle School librarian Mindy Wandling who pulled the book over concerns about its age-appropriateness in November, after consulting with principal Neil Seneff. Alamosa High School librarian Mark Skinner soon found out about the removal and protested to district Superintendent Henry Herrera, who convened a meeting with school principals and librarians on December 3. Within two days, The Golden Compass was back in the Ortega collection, according to the December 11 Alamosa Valley Courier.
“I have a hard time with anyone who wants to pull a book when they haven’t read it,” Skinner said at a December 10 Adams State College public forum prompted by the incident. Forum panelist Ed Wandling, husband of the Ortega school librarian, explained that Mindy became concerned after her research on Pullman turned up an interview in the Sydney Morning Herald December 13, 2003, in which Pullman—an avowed atheist—said, “My books are about killing God.” Ed Wandling (who said he was representing his wife because she was recovering from the shock of two area shootings December 8 and 9 targeting the New Life Church where the Wandlings are staff members) added that he was not challenging the book’s literary merit but its message because it conflicts with community standards. “The American Library Association thinks I, as a parent, am the only one who can restrict what my children read. I don’t agree with that.” (From AL Direct)

Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act Passes

In a victory for libraries and the cause of literacy, President Bush December 12 signed the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007. Since 1965, Head Start has provided comprehensive child-development services to millions of low-income children and their families to promote school readiness. The bill, which reauthorizes Head Start for another five years, had passed the House by a vote of 381–36 and the Senate by 95–0 November 14.
The American Library Association advocated for language to be included in the bill that provides opportunities for libraries to play a greater role in Head Start programs. That language was included. By recognizing the important role that public and school libraries play in improving literacy and school readiness, the new law authorizes libraries to aid Head Start in “conducting reading readiness programs; developing innovative programs to excite children about the world of books, including providing fresh books in the Head Start classroom; assisting in literacy training for Head Start teachers; [and] supporting parents and other caregivers in literacy efforts.” (From AL Direct)

ALA Midwinter is Coming Soon!

Midwinter conference is in Philadelphia this year from Jan. 11 - 14 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Lots of great events are being planned including the keynote speaker at the ALA President’s Program who will be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a prolific author. Here's a direct link to the ALA site, which will give you a lot more information:
http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/midwinter/2008/home.htm

LSTA Money Request

The following letter was sent to every conferee of the Labor-HHS-Education House and Senate Appropriations Committee. The conference report did have $171.5 million for LSTA's state plans. We are currently awaiting the President's veto of this legislation.

October 25, 2007

The Honorable Lamar Alexander
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

Dear Senator Alexander :

On behalf of the 67,000 members of the American Library Association (ALA), I request that you include $171,500,000 for the Grants to State Library Agencies program within the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in the fiscal year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

LSTA, the only federal program solely devoted to aiding libraries, consolidates federal library programs, while expanding services for learning and access to information resources in all types of libraries (public, school, academic, research, etc.) for individuals of all ages. It is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and is distributed through state library agencies to individual libraries via formula grants. There is a requirement for a state match, which helps stimulate approximately $3 to $4 for every federal dollar invested.

LSTA funds are used to offer training on résumé development; help on web searches of job banks; workshops on career information; links to essential educational and community services; assistive devices for people with disabilities; family literacy classes; homework help and mentoring programs; access to government information; a forum for enhanced civic engagement, and so much more.

LSTA funds also help libraries encourage business development. Libraries serve as important links to the business community, assisting with job creation and training programs, as well as assisting with business development initiatives. For many small businesses the library provides research resources and staff they could not otherwise afford.

The President requested and the Senate recommended $171,500,000 for Grants to State Library Agencies. This funding level will allow full implementation of a 2003 law to provide a more equitable distribution of state formula grants. At this funding level, TN would receive $3,376,532 in FY 2008. If Grants to State Library Agencies is funded at this level, Congress will provide library users nationwide with improved patron access to information and library services that can be targeted to people of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, to individuals with disabilities, and to people with limited literacy skills.

As conferees meet to reconcile the difference between the Senate and House bills, we ask that you please support $171,500,000 for Grants to State Library Agencies.

Please do not hesitate to contact the American Library Association or me should you need any additional assistance as the appropriations process moves forward.

Sincerely,
Emily Sheketoff
Executive Director
American Library Association Washington Office

Senate Okays Public Access to Medical Research

The U.S. Senate approved October 23 a measure that mandates the deposit of peer-reviewed articles researched with the support of the National Institutes of Health to be deposited into the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central database for public availability within 12 months of publication.
The provision is part of the Senate’s $605.5-billion version of H.R. 3043, the FY2008 appropriation for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The American Library Association’s Washington Office reports that the Senate has recommended $171.5 million of that amount for grants under the Library Services and Technology Act, which is $5 million more than the House approved in July. The two chambers must reconcile the versions, along with six other spending bills passed by both houses, before sending them to the White House.
According to the October 24 CongressDaily online news, President Bush has threatened to veto H.R. 3043 because the discretionary spending portion is some 5% more than appropriated for FY2007, compared to the 2.5% cut proposed by the administration.
The passage by the Senate was hailed by Heather Joseph of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) as “a milestone victory [that] sets the stage for researchers, patients, and the general public to benefit in new and important ways from our collective investment in the critical biomedical research conducted by the National Institutes of Health.” First proposed in 2004 by a House subcommittee, unfettered public access to peer-reviewed research has been opposed by the publishing industry. The initial compromise struck was the 2005 establishment of a voluntary deposit program, which has yielded open access to less than 5% of the eligible medical literature, according to the Alliance for Taxpayer Access.
SPARC and ALA are among 41 groups of educators and patient and health-policy advocates that formed the Alliance in 2004.

ALA 2008 Scholarship Online Application Now Available

Scholarship money is available for future librarians! The American Library Association (ALA) has more than $300,000 for students who are studying library science or school library media at the master's degree level. Scholarships typically range from $2,500 to $6,500 per student per year. The application and instructions are available on-line at www.ala.org/scholarships. The application deadline is March 1.There are many types of scholarships available for the study of librarianship. These include scholarships for students who are interested in Children's Librarianship, School Librarianship, Youth Librarianship, Federal Librarianship, and Library Automation. In addition, there are also scholarships available for minorities, persons with disabilities and for people who are already employed in libraries but do not have an MLS.To be considered for one of these scholarships, applicants must attend a masters program in library and information science that has been accredited by the ALA. Applicants interested in school library media must attend a program that meets ALA curriculum guidelines for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).The scholarship process is open annually from October through March. For more information, visit www.ala.org/scholarships or call the ALA Scholarship Clearinghouse at 800-545-2433, ext. 4279.