<DOC> [110th Congress House Hearings] [From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access] [DOCID: f:41131.wais] THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) LIBRARY CLOSURES: BETTER ACCESS FOR A BROADER AUDIENCE? ======================================================================= HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION __________ MARCH 13, 2008 __________ Serial No. 110-85 __________ Printed for the use of the Committee on Science and Technology Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.science.house.gov ---------- U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 41-131 PDF WASHINGTON : 2008 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402-0001 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HON. BART GORDON, Tennessee, Chairman JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois RALPH M. HALL, Texas EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER JR., LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California Wisconsin MARK UDALL, Colorado LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas DAVID WU, Oregon DANA ROHRABACHER, California BRIAN BAIRD, Washington ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland BRAD MILLER, North Carolina VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma NICK LAMPSON, Texas JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona W. TODD AKIN, Missouri JERRY MCNERNEY, California JO BONNER, Alabama LAURA RICHARDSON, California TOM FEENEY, Florida PAUL KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas DARLENE HOOLEY, Oregon BOB INGLIS, South Carolina STEVEN R. ROTHMAN, New Jersey DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington JIM MATHESON, Utah MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas MIKE ROSS, Arkansas MARIO DIAZ-BALART, Florida BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky PHIL GINGREY, Georgia RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California CHARLIE MELANCON, Louisiana ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska BARON P. HILL, Indiana PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona CHARLES A. WILSON, Ohio ------ Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight HON. BRAD MILLER, North Carolina, Chairman JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER JR., EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas Wisconsin DARLENE HOOLEY, Oregon DANA ROHRABACHER, California STEVEN R. ROTHMAN, New Jersey DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington BRIAN BAIRD, Washington PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia BART GORDON, Tennessee RALPH M. HALL, Texas DAN PEARSON Subcommittee Staff Director EDITH HOLLEMAN Subcommittee Counsel JAMES PAUL Democratic Professional Staff Member DOUGLAS S. PASTERNAK Democratic Professional Staff Member KEN JACOBSON Democratic Professional Staff Member BART FORSYTH Republican Counsel TOM HAMMOND Republican Professional Staff Member STACEY STEEP Research Assistant C O N T E N T S March 13, 2008 Page Witness List..................................................... 2 Hearing Charter.................................................. 3 Opening Statements Prepared Statement by Representative Bart Gordon, Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives................................................ 22 Statement by Representative Ralph M. Hall, Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives................................................ 20 Statement by Representative Brad Miller, Chairman, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives...................... 17 Written Statement............................................ 19 Prepared Statement by Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives................................................ 20 Prepared Statement by Representative Jerry F. Costello, Member, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives.......... 22 Prepared Statement by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Member, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives....... 23 Statement by Representative Paul C. Broun, Member, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives...................... 21 Witnesses: Mr. John B. Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office Oral Statement............................................... 28 Written Statement............................................ 30 Biography.................................................... 39 Mr. Charles Orzehoskie, President, National Council of EPA Locals #238, American Federation of Government Employees Oral Statement............................................... 39 Written Statement............................................ 41 Dr. Francesca T. Grifo, Senior Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists; Director, Scientific Integrity Program Oral Statement............................................... 49 Written Statement............................................ 51 Biography.................................................... 54 Mr. James R. Rettig, President-elect, American Library Association; University Librarian, University of Richmond Oral Statement............................................... 55 Written Statement............................................ 56 Biography.................................................... 59 Ms. Molly A. O'Neill, Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information, The Office of Environmental Information (OEI); Chief Information Officer (CIO), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Oral Statement............................................... 60 Written Statement............................................ 62 Discussion Access to EPA Library Services................................. 64 Availability of Library Materials.............................. 64 More on Access to EPA Library Services......................... 65 When Did EPA Develop Library Commonality Procedures and Outreach?.................................................... 66 EPA Actions Since the Senate Hearings.......................... 68 EPA Report to Congress......................................... 69 Effect of Library Closings on EPA Employees.................... 70 Progress Report on Digitization................................ 71 More on EPA's Report to Congress............................... 72 Is EPA Briefing Stakeholders on the Report?.................... 73 Effect of Librarian Loss on EPA Employees...................... 74 Is EPA Reaching Out to Communities With Library Closures?...... 75 More on the EPA Report to Congress............................. 75 Reopening EPA Libraries........................................ 76 Appendix 1: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions Mr. John B. Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office.................. 80 Ms. Molly A. O'Neill, Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information, The Office of Environmental Information (OEI); Chief Information Officer (CIO), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency......................................................... 83 Appendix 2: Additional Material for the Record Exhibit #1, EPA Office of Environmental Information Report, ``Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers'' (January 2004)......................... 88 Exhibit #2, EPA Library Network Workgroup Report, ``EPA Library Network: Challenges for FY 2007 and Beyond'' (November 22, 2005).......................................................... 112 Exhibit #3, EPA Office of Environmental Information ``EPA FY 2007 Library Plan: National Framework for the Headquarters and Regional Libraries'' (August 15, 2006)......................... 122 Exhibit #4, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) Position Paper on the 2007 EPA Library Plan (August 23, 2006).......................................................... 140 Exhibit #5, Letter to GAO Comptroller General David Walker requesting an investigation of the EPA Libraries Restructuring Plan from Chairmen Gordon, Dingell, Waxman, and Oberstar (September 19, 2006)........................................... 145 Exhibit #6, Letter to EPA Administrator Johnson from Chairmen Gordon, Dingell, and Waxman (November 30, 2006)................ 149 Exhibit #7, Letter to Chairman Gordon from Molly O'Neill, Assistant Administrator and Chief Information Officer, Office of Environmental Information, EPA responding to November 30, 2006 (Exhibit #6) (January 12, 2007)........................... 151 Exhibit #8, The Arbitration decision between EPA and the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO; Council 238....... 153 THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) LIBRARY CLOSURES: BETTER ACCESS FOR A BROADER AUDIENCE? ---------- THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008 House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Committee on Science and Technology, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:35 a.m., in Room 2318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Brad Miller [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding. [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] hearing charter SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Library Closures: Better Access for a Broader Audience? thursday, march 13, 2008 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. 2318 rayburn house office building Purpose The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) manages an extensive library system designed to serve the specific needs of its research and regulatory scientists, its enforcement specialists and the interested public. Beginning in 2003, EPA managers began a series of studies of how to consolidate and restructure their library system to reduce costs among its 26 branches. By the end of FY 2006, seven libraries were closed. The libraries closed included three regional libraries (Dallas, Chicago, Kansas City), a technical library in Edison, NJ, associated with the Region two library, a laboratory library in Region three located in Fort Meade, MD, and two libraries located in Washington, D.C. (the headquarters library and the chemical library managed by the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) ). Because EPA did not complete work necessary to restructure its library network, the collections previously housed in these libraries are still not fully accessible to EPA employees and the public. On Thursday, March 13 at 9:30 a.m. in Rayburn 2318 the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight will hold a hearing on EPA's plan to consolidate and modernize its library network and the impacts of their implementation of this plan on EPA employees and the public. Witnesses: The witnesses testifying at the hearing will be: Mr. John Stephenson, Director Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office; Mr. Charles Orzehoskie, President, American Federation of Government Employees, Council 238; Dr. Francesca Grifo, Senior Scientist and Director of the Scientific Integrity Program, Union of Concerned Scientists; Mr. Jim Rettig, President-elect, American Library Association; Ms. Molly O'Neill, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) and Chief Information Officer, Environmental Protection Agency. Background This matter has been of interest to the Committee since March 2006 when Jeff Ruch, Executive Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) testified before the Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards about a proposed funding cut of $2 million dollars in the budget for EPA's regional libraries was likely to lead to the closure of library facilities. In September 2006, Mr. Gordon was joined by Mr. Dingell and Mr. Waxman (Senator Boxer later joined the request) in a letter to GAO requesting an investigation of EPA's library restructuring plan, its implementation, and its potential impacts on delivery of library services to EPA employees and the public (letter attached). In November 2006, those same House Members, joined by Mr. Oberstar, wrote to EPA Administrator Johnson asking that he suspend all activity designed to close facilities or dispose of materials until Congress could be heard on its preferences for EPA's library system. Early in 2007, Administrator Johnson agreed to do so. In the FY 2008 omnibus appropriation Congress included $1 million in additional funding for EPA's libraries to reopen the regional libraries that were closed and required the Agency to provide a plan to restore library services within 90 days of the law's enactment (signed on December 26, 2007). A good primer on the restructuring effort can be found in the attached report by CRS, this charter will briefly touch on five key questions which we hope to explore in the hearing. 1. Did EPA Have a Plan for Maintaining Continuity of Library Services When the Plan Was Implemented in 2006? For several years, EPA managers have looked at alternative structures for delivering library services to their employees and the public. The collections in EPA's libraries are extraordinarily specialized and, in some cases, absolutely unique. The network as a whole is a unique library collection. EPA's own information procedures guidance on library materials dispersion reads in relevant part: ``Although it may be tempting to dispose of library materials quickly, the loss of important and unique materials could have serious future consequences if the Agency cannot document scientific findings or enforcement actions.'' \1\ \1\ ``EPA Library Network Procedure: Library Materials Dispersion,'' Issued by the EPA Chief Information Officer pursuant to delegation 1-19 dated 07/07/05. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Used by both their science staff and their enforcement staff, the holdings in these libraries are essential to the work done at EPA. Librarians at the facilities also play an integral role in helping staff locate the most responsive, richest materials for the particular research, enforcement action, or litigation that EPA staff are pursuing. While EPA initiated a review in 2003 that identified areas for improvement and modernization of EPA's library network, the follow-up work recommended in the 2004 report: Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers\2\ was not done before libraries were closed or limited in their service and collections were dispersed and disposed of. The failure to do the required preparatory work suggests that no plan was guiding the library consolidation process. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers. Prepared by Stratus Consulting for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Information, EPA 260-R-001, January 2004. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seven libraries were simply closed without the holdings being digitized, clearly prioritized for future digitization or even always secured for future access. Nothing about this effort appears to have been consistent with the guidance quoted above. In fact, the regions appear to have been presented with draconian budget cuts and then ``allowed'' to figure out how they would cope with those cuts with little or no guidance or coordination from Washington. This situation was guaranteed to lead to confusion and a collapse in service for many, many EPA employees. 2. Did EPA Realize Budget Savings Through Implementation of Their Plan? EPA has said repeatedly that they had to respond to a $2 million budget cut. This budget reduction appears to have been a cut initiated by the Agency itself. There is no line in the EPA's budget submission to Congress or in the appropriations legislation or its accompanying report where the cut to services planned for FY 2007 (which began to unfold in September 2006) was revealed. Funding for the regional libraries is included in the budget for the Office of Environmental Information which is within a larger allocation for administrative functions of the Agency. The Administration chose to fold into their budget less money for library services. It was not a problem imposed upon the agency, and this budget decision runs contrary to information in their earlier planning activities that suggested that additional resources would be required initially to move to a more electronically- based system for delivering library services. EPA initiated library closings before Congress passed EPA's appropriation for FY 2007, which ultimately included a larger overall Agency budget than was requested by the Administration, yet that did not slow the effort by EPA to implement this reduced ``budget.'' As to budget savings, EPA also had no accounting mechanism in place to ensure that savings would in fact be realized by closing libraries. The Agency claimed it was committed to ensuring continued access to the materials in the libraries that closed. In order to provide continued access to library materials and digitize unique EPA documents, the collections would have to be sorted, identified and cataloged for distribution to the new location. In terms of documents to be digitized, materials would have to be identified, prioritized, digitized, and hosted on a computer with an effective interface to allow searching and retrieval. The prospect of virtual libraries is tempting, but it is not a cheap exercise. The 2004 study on library restructuring laid out all the analyses that would have to occur to result in a net benefit to the government. GAO found that none of that research--including surveying library users about their needs, conducting a complete inventory of each library's information resources, and fully evaluating alternative models for delivering library services--had taken place. The Business Case report had laid out a high bar to get over for any plan aimed at closing libraries and changing access: they found that for every dollar spent, anywhere from $2 to $5.70 came back to the Agency and the public in benefits. The active involvement of librarians in searches for materials was the primary gain from the library system as it existed. Librarians were found to both speed searches for materials and improve the quality of materials identified for a specific purpose. Digitizing collections alone would not fully capture those benefits--or necessarily offset the costs of searches done absent expert knowledge of reference material contained in the collections. 3. Has EPA's Effort to Digitize Library Holdings Resulted in Greater Access to Library Collections? On its face, a claim that modernizing a library system through delivery of web-based or electronic library services is persuasive. It sounds like it should be cheaper to maintain, cheaper to provide access and that it would result in expanded access to library collections and services. However, in the case of EPA's efforts, there is little evidence that these presumed benefits have been realized or will be in the near-term. Digitization of library materials does not require libraries to be closed, yet EPA closed libraries before collections were properly inventoried and digitization of materials appropriate for conversion to electronic media was completed. EPA still has not digitized all materials eligible for digitization and it is unclear whether the products of this effort are appropriate for use by a library system. Materials were simply boxed up and stored or shipped to other EPA libraries; some materials were disposed of (including materials being tossed into dumpsters), and others were distributed to other public and private libraries. While employees who used closed libraries have all been provided with guidance on how to work with libraries that remain open somewhere in the system, it is still unclear whether collections from the closed libraries are still accessible to employees. Public access to these materials has apparently not yet been restored. 4. Did Implementation of EPA's Plan Ensure Continuity of Library Services to EPA Employees and the Public or Improve Library Services? Library Services have been interrupted for both EPA employees and the public. Not only have libraries been closed, but librarians with experience in managing the individual collections are no longer with the Agency. As important as the loss of access to materials was the loss of qualified librarians to help employees and the public navigate the extensive, often technical, holdings in these libraries. The closure of seven libraries had an absolute impact on the ability of EPA employees to do their jobs. In August of 2007, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance provided a position paper on the closure plan arguing that it would materially impact their ability to enforce the law.\3\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Position Paper on the 2007 EPA Library Plan, 8/23/2006. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another sign of the impact on employees was that it was substantial enough to contribute to a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service arbitrator to find ``that the changes effected by the Agency associated with the reorganization of its Library Network did, in some profound ways, affect the working conditions of the Union's bargaining unit employees.'' \4\ Agency employees complained to their Union representatives as well as to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) about these conditions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \4\ In the Matter of the Arbitration Between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL- CIO, Council 238, FMCS Case No. 07-50725, February 15, 2008, p. 66. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- EPA's failure to conduct the follow-on work necessary to realize the benefits of modernizing the delivery of library services resulted in a disruption of library service to EPA employees and the public. Service has not improved nor is the same level of service being provided today as existed prior to the closure of the libraries. This is especially true for service to the public. The 2004 study noted that: ``EPA libraries often act as the safety net, catching the most frustrated members of the public trying to find information or assistance.'' \5\ The safety net has now been eliminated at five locations and hours have been reduced at other EPA libraries. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \5\ Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers. Prepared by Stratus Consulting for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Information, EPA 260-R-001, January 2004. Page 3. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. What Is the Path Forward? As mentioned above, Congress has appropriated funds to reopen closed libraries. Note that the Region 5 library's physical infrastructure was auctioned by the General Services Administration-- $40,000 worth of shelves, desks and materials went for $300. The EPA also is required to present Congress with their plan for the future. That plan is due later in March, but the Subcommittee hopes to learn what steps EPA has taken to restore those libraries and get a firm commitment on when the agency's plan will be delivered to Congress. GAO and the other witnesses at the hearing will also offer their recommendations on the steps EPA should take to restore library services to their employees and the public and to move forward with a modernization plan that truly delivers on EPA's stated goal of providing broader access to environmental information to a wider audience. [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Chairman Miller. Good morning. Welcome to this hearing this morning: ``The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Library Closures: Better Access for a Broader Audience?'' The EPA has built an absolutely unique library system. It contains collections of documents that are very specialized, and are used to inform scientific advice, regulatory proposals, and enforcement of environmental laws. With 26 branches around the country, the network, as it stood in the beginning of 2006, was an integrated whole, with regions possessing collections appropriate to those regions, as well as a general collection of journals and books. By the end of that year, however, the system was in disarray. EPA headquarters had imposed an 80 percent budget cut on the regional library system, which resulted in the closings of the Chicago, Dallas, and Kansas City libraries, and closed both the Headquarters Library and the Chemistry Library in Washington. The materials of those libraries were boxed, stored, shipped, given away, and in some cases, apparently, just thrown away. Members of the public, EPA employees, Members of Congress, were all concerned about the way the library closings developed, and Congress had no real warning that it was coming. And neither did the employees or the public, who rely upon the EPA's library system. Our Full Committee Chairman, Mr. Gordon, joined in a GAO request, a Government Accountability Office request, with Chairman Dingell and Chairman Waxman, as well as Senator Boxer, and gave the GAO the task of examining the methods used by the EPA for closing the libraries. We will hear the testimony of the GAO today, but their findings confirm that our concerns about the library closings were very well founded. EPA managers had quietly begun considering how to consolidate the libraries and modernize their libraries in 2003. They gave it a lot of thought. They developed a thoughtful plan to avoid hobbling the EPA's work or the public's access, to develop a continuous availability of the information, with minimum disruption. But then, when it came time to consolidate the system, those managers, EPA managers, just ignored all of that careful planning, and simply shut the libraries, or told the libraries your budget is now 20 percent of what it was before. Deal with it. There was no effort to reach out to the staff, to learn what they needed from the libraries, and how to serve the EPA employees' continued work, that the EPA managers did not try to establish priorities in library holdings, or to digitize those holdings before boxing them up, so that they would remain continuously available to the EPA and to the public. They made no effort to do a cost-benefit analysis of various ways to organize the library system, and when it came to decisions to close libraries, EPA headquarters made no effort to provide guidance or assure integration within the system. Again, headquarters simply announced a $2 million cut, leaving $500,000, a half a million, across the regional system, and just told the regions to figure out, figure it out. Your budget is 20 percent of what it was before. Deal with it. Perhaps it is not surprising that the library system was as disrupted as it has been, that libraries have closed. What is pretty remarkable is the effort of EPA's employees to keep the libraries open, even if they have had to reduce hours and access. The most generous interpretation of EPA's conduct in closing the libraries is incompetence, that EPA managers grossly mismanaged the library system. Despite careful thinking and planning, in the end, incompetence seems to have ruled the manner in which the EPA budget cuts were administered. Others see a more sinister motive. Because it is undoubtedly the case that closing the libraries and limiting access to important information reduces the ability of EPA employees to protect the environment or the public health, it certainly hobbles the work, also, of independent scientists who had relied upon the libraries. I am not persuaded that there was actually a conscious motive behind those actions of hobbling the work of the EPA and of independent scientists, but it is an unavoidable and absolutely predictable consequence of what management did in 2006, and there is a well known legal doctrine that you are held to the natural consequences of your conduct, of your actions. EPA managers took a library system that was working well, that was the best in the world at what they did, that they knew was important to what EPA did, that they knew was important to independent scientists, and they disrupted it so much that it will take years and a lot of money to make things right, and some things will never be made right. So, where do we go from here? First, Congress directs, through the 2008 Omnibus Appropriation, that the regional libraries that have been closed should be reopened. I congratulate Senator Boxer for her strong work to make that happen. And I want to know what EPA is doing to follow that direction from Congress. Second, the Agency should reopen its headquarters and chemical libraries. Those are central assets that serve the Washington staff of EPA, and the loss of those libraries is a tragedy. Third, EPA managers need to return to the studies of 2004 and 2005 for how to consolidate and manage and modernize the libraries. There should certainly be no further closings until the holdings of the libraries have been effectively cataloged, evaluated, ranked in priority order, and digitized. No library should be closed without a promise, should be closed with a promise of eventual Internet or Intranet access, until the search engines that would make it happen are proven to provide the access that is promised. No library should be closed until methods are established to guarantee librarian support for the work of the libraries, even, and for the EPA and for the scientists who depend upon those libraries, even if that work is done with virtual materials. Finally, no effort to restructure services should come without significant consultation and guidance from the staff of the Agency, the concerned public, the scientists who depend upon those libraries, and with Congress. We are right in the Constitution, right there, just before Article II, Article I. We are not meddling. We are part of the government. We have an excellent panel of witnesses with us this morning. I look forward to their testimony, your testimony, and your recommendations on how to rebuild and modernize the EPA's network. Now, I would like to recognize Mr. Hall, who is filling in today for Mr. Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin. Mr. Hall, would you like to make an opening statement? [The prepared statement of Chairman Miller follows:] Prepared Statement of Chairman Brad Miller Good morning and welcome to today's hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) management of its library system. EPA has developed an absolutely unique library system. It contains collections of documents that are very specialized and are used to inform scientific advice, regulatory proposals, and enforcement of environmental laws. With 26 branches across the country, the network as it stood in early 2006, was an integrated whole with regions possessing collections appropriate to the issues in those regions as well as other journals and books. By the end of 2006, that system stood in disarray. In the interim, EPA headquarters had imposed an almost 80 percent budget cut on the regional library system--which resulted in closings of the Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City libraries--and had closed both the headquarters library and the chemistry library in Washington, D.C. The materials of those libraries were boxed, stored, shipped, given away or simply thrown away. Members of the public, EPA employees and Members of Congress were all concerned about the way the library closure process unfolded. Congress had no real warning that this was coming--and as it turns out neither did employees or the public. Our Full Committee Chairman, Mr. Gordon, was joined in a GAO request by Chairmen Dingell and Waxman as well as Senator Boxer. GAO was tasked with examining the methods used by EPA for closing the libraries. We will hear their testimony today, but their findings confirm that our concerns were well founded. EPA managers had quietly begun studying how to consolidate and modernize their library system in 2003. They gave it a lot of thought. They developed a terrific road map to how to do it in a 2004 report. Then, when it came time to consolidate the system, those managers simply ignored all the careful planning they had engaged in and simply shuttered libraries. No effort had been made to reach out to staff to learn what they needed and how to better serve them. No effort had been made to prioritize library holdings and digitize those holdings, prior to boxing them up, so that they would remain available to EPA and the public. No effort was made to even do a careful cost-benefit analysis of various ways to reorganize the library system. And when it came to decisions to close libraries, headquarters made no effort to provide guidance or assure integration across the system. Headquarters simply announced a $2 million cut--leaving just $500,000 across the regional system--and left it to the regions to figure out what to do. Perhaps the surprise isn't that so many libraries closed, but that so many found the means to stay open--even if they reduced their hours and access. The best interpretation of this situation is that EPA managers appeared to grossly mismanage their library system. Despite all the careful thinking and planning, in the end, incompetence seems to have won the day. Others may see a more nefarious motive in these actions, because it is undoubtedly the case that closing libraries and limiting access to important information reduces the ability of EPA employees to act to protect the environment or the public health. I am not persuaded that was the motive behind these actions, but I do think it is an unavoidable and predictable consequence of the moves by management in 2006. They took a library system that was working, and shook it up so that much of it is not working well and it may take years and a lot of money to set things right again. So where do we go from here? First, Congress directed in the 2008 Omnibus Appropriation that the regional libraries that have been closed should be reopened. I want to particularly congratulate Senator Boxer for her strong work to accomplish this. I want to know what steps EPA has taken to follow that guidance. Second, the agency should reopen its headquarters and chemical libraries. These are central assets that serve the Washington, D.C. staff of EPA and the public and the loss of these libraries is a tragedy. Third. EPA managers need to return to its studies of 2004 and 2005 and restart their effort to enhance library services. No library should be closed until its holdings have been effectively catalogued, prioritized and digitized. No library should be closed with a promise of Internet or Intranet access, until the search engines are proven to provide meaningful access. No libraries should be closed until methods are established to guarantee librarian support for work, even if that work is done with virtual materials. Finally, no efforts to restructure services should come without significant consultation and guidance from the staff of the agency, the concerned public or Congress. We have an excellent panel of witnesses with us this morning. I look forward to your testimony and your recommendations on how to rebuild and modernize the EPA library network. Mr. Hall. I would like to, and I am going to. With that opening statement from one of the renowned lawyers who came to Congress with the reputation of being one of the really great lawyers in the whole area that he represented, he is kind of a hard guy to take on, and I am not taking him on. I am not here to push nor to pull. I am here, really, to be a Member sitting here, to where we can get this committee going, and you do have a good panel. I know some of them, and known them for some time, but I am kind of, I have listened to you there, very capable output. I thought about Tom Connelly, a judge, long-time judge later in the Senate, he was about to sentence a man to death, and he reiterated all of the hard crimes he had done, and how horrible and heinous it all was, and said now, do you have anything to say before I sentence you to die, and he said no, sir, the way you put it, it seemed like I'm getting off pretty light. So, I don't know if that is the way this group feels or not, but Mr. Chairman, I don't have an opening statement. I would like to ask unanimous consent for Mr. Sensenbrenner to put a statement in the record. Without objection. Chairman Miller. Without objection. [The prepared statement of Mr. Sensenbrenner follows:] Prepared Statement of Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established its library network in 1971, one year after the Agency's creation. Since that time, the network grew to 26 libraries, serving both EPA staff and the public. In 2004, EPA's Office of Environmental Information (OEI) completed a cost-benefit analysis of EPA's library services. OEI concluded that the libraries provided ``substantial value'' to the agency and to the public, with a benefit-to-cost ratio ranging between 2:1 and 5.7:1. These benefits were based on time savings for EPA staff because of the benefits of assistance from a professional librarian. In FY2007, EPA began restructuring its libraries to transition from walk-in services to electronic dissemination. As part of the restructuring, EPA closed five of its libraries and restricted access to eight more. In theory, EPA's restructuring would improve access to library materials by making them available electronically and reduce costs by eliminating the need for some of the physical structures. In practice, however, the implementation of the plan appears to have restricted access without providing any cost savings. The Union of Concerned Scientists found that 35.6 percent of surveyed EPA scientists (555 total) agreed with the statement: the ``recent changes and closures in the EPA library system have impaired my ability to do my job.'' This sentiment was much higher, nearly 50 percent, for scientists who practiced in areas where a physical library was actually closed. In a report released at today's hearing, titled EPA Needs to Ensue that Best Practices and Procedures are Followed When Making Further Changes to its Library Network, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that, not only has service been interrupted, but also that EPA failed to document any costs savings. GAO wrote: EPA's primary rationale for the library network reorganization was to generate cost savings by creating a more coordinated library network and increasing the electronic delivery of services. However, EPA did not fully follow procedures recommended in a 2004 EPA study of steps that should be taken to prepare for a reorganization. In particular, EPA did not fully evaluate alternative models, and associated costs and benefits, of library services. Government Accountability Office, EPA Needs to Ensue that Best Practices and Procedures Are Followed When Making Further Changes to Its Library Network, p. 1 (February, 2008). EPA thus failed to follow its own guidance and failed to perform cost-benefit analysis before taking actions with the goal of reducing costs. GAO also found that EPA hindered its transition by failing to develop a plan to communicate the reorganizations to the public and its staff. Finally, EPA may have violated federal property management regulations for disposal or dispersal of library materials by failing to make a written determination that property had ``no value'' before discarding it. Without such a determination, regulations require that agencies report surplus property to the General Services Administration. The end result of EPA's hasty reorganization may have been reduced benefits at comparable costs. I, of course, support any effort to provide superior service at a lower cost. EPA has not, however, demonstrated either that service was not impaired or that costs were in fact lowered. The motivation to reduce costs is not cost effective when coupled with hurried analysis and rushed execution. GAO has provided a detailed analysis of EPA's reorganization. I urge EPA to properly conduct this cost-benefit analysis and ensure continued access to an important resource. Mr. Hall. And I would like to have the right to let Judge Broun, Dr. Broun, have my time, and I understand he just wants to put one in the record. Chairman Miller. Also without objection. Mr. Broun. I want to thank the Chairman for holding this hearing, and yes, likewise, I am looking forward to the testimony of the panel, and I also will just submit my opening statement for the record, if that is agreeable with the Chairman. I ask unanimous consent to be able to do so. Chairman Miller. Again, without objection. [The prepared statement of Mr. Broun follows:] Prepared Statement of Representative Paul C. Broun I want to thank the Chairman for holding this hearing and welcome our witnesses here today. EPA's ability to protect public health and the environment is contingent on timely access to accurate information. The existing library infrastructure plays a major role in providing that information to not only EPA, but also the general public. While the manner in which EPA scientists, outside scholars, advocacy groups, and litigators receive information has changed over the last 20 years, the importance of that information has not. Modern information technology has given access to many more users than traditional brick and mortar libraries, but we must be cautious in how we transition to new data formats. One of the challenges EPA faces is access. Continuous, uninterrupted, and timely access to EPA-unique documents by both EPA scientists and private citizens is critical to executing EPA's charter of protecting the environment and the public. Additionally, access to information that is not unique to EPA such as journals, commercially available information, and other reference materials are still vitally important to EPA scientists and the general public. Even though access to this information can be obtained through other means such as interlibrary loan or Internet accessed databases, rarely is it as timely or as efficient as having it on-site. Another challenge EPA must address is how to keep professional research support staff and librarians involved in the process. These key professionals will still be required to help users navigate the ever-growing collections of data, perhaps even more so in our new digital age. How to manage EPA's library infrastructure investment and balance the competing concerns of access and efficiency is no easy task. EPA began the process of transitioning to a more modern system in 2003 by doing all the right things. They conducted a cost-benefit analysis and reviewed the program no less than four times between 2004 and 2006. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though EPA learned from these reviews, or consulted with any outside experts such as the American Library Association (ALA), internal unions, or outside users. Rather than carefully and methodically implementing a transition, they instead closed libraries in an abrupt attempt at cost savings. Earlier EPA reviews had pointed to the cost effectiveness of the library infrastructure, but those reviews apparently did not influence their decision. While EPA's motivation to modernize the way it provides information to its employees and the general public should be commended, we in Congress have the responsibility to ensure that the process is done in a prudent manner that does not adversely impact the end-users. I want to commend GAO for their excellent work on the topic. I look forward to the witness's testimony today and pledge to work with EPA to make certain that any changes to the library system do not negatively impact end-users that are tasked with protecting our environment and public health. Thank you Mr. Chairman. I yield back my time. Chairman Miller. And if there are any Members of the Committee, of the Subcommittee who are not here this morning, we will also welcome statements that they may submit. So, all that, without objection, is so ordered. [The prepared statement of Chairman Gordon follows:] Prepared Statement of Chairman Bart Gordon The Government Accountability Office's report on EPA's library network is a blueprint of how not to modernize and restructure a functioning organization. When I requested this investigation with my colleagues back in September 2006, I suspected EPA was moving too quickly to close libraries. I was skeptical that any cost savings would be achieved through this exercise, or that the Agency was taking proper care to ensure this unique library collection would remain intact and accessible. I hoped I was wrong. A library is more than a collection of books and documents. It is an organized body of knowledge that we continue to build upon as we expand our understanding of the world we live in. It is a public institution that promotes democracy by providing everyone the opportunity to access and utilize the accumulated knowledge of our society. I believe libraries should move into the modern era of electronic communication just as all our other public and private institutions are doing. If it is done right, the creation of a web-based virtual library would expand access to information to a much broader audience. I fully support such a goal. Unfortunately, the EPA library network is nowhere near that goal. Simply stating and repeating the goal of ``providing greater access for a broader audience'' does not accomplish it. Real work needed to be done by the Agency prior to emptying library shelves or closing any library doors. GAO's report documents the Agency's failure to do any of the work necessary to ensure their stated goal for the modernization would be accomplished. EPA executed a failed process for modernizing their library network. The only goal they accomplished was to reduce the number of libraries in the EPA network. This is not a goal that serves the public or the Agency's mission. The Agency appears to have avoided talking to any group with expertise or interest in their libraries. The Agency did not consult experts inside or outside the government to determine best practices for establishing and maintaining an electronic library. They also refused to meet with their own employees--an action that ultimately led to arbitration and a finding that the Agency violated its agreement with their Unions. EPA made no attempt to reach out to the public, and they virtually ignored Congress until they reluctantly agreed to a moratorium on further implementation of their flawed plan. Until EPA has completed the work necessary to move to an electronic delivery of library services, the closed libraries should be reopened. Documents should be retrieved and replaced and library services should be restored to the level they were prior to the initiation of this flawed plan. The public and the EPA employees who serve them deserve no less. [The prepared statement of Mr. Costello follows:] Prepared Statement of Representative Jerry F. Costello Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you for overseeing this hearing today and for your leadership of this subcommittee. The closure of the EPA libraries is one that this committee, and many other Members of Congress, has been concerned about for some time. The nature of the closures, the way in which they were carried out and the effect on the Agency and its employees have caused a great deal of concern in both the science and library community. I am concerned that the closure of the Region 5 EPA library has had a considerable impact on my home State of Illinois. I am interested in hearing more from our panel on this issue, as I have heard reports of concerned scientists, librarians and community members on the issue. What I find particularly troubling about today's subject matter is that the nature in which these closures were implemented is consistent with the dismissive attitude this Administration has taken towards Congressional oversight. The reports of potentially lost unique documents and hastily-sold furniture in order to save money do not seem like part of a well-thought out plan. I thank our witnesses for coming today and I look forward to hearing their thoughts on this matter. I yield back. [The prepared statement of Ms. Johnson follows:] Prepared Statement of Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to welcome today's witnesses to this hearing of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight: both the witness from the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the witnesses from the Government Accountability Office and from stakeholder groups. I appreciate that the E.P.A. manages an extensive library system designed to serve the specific needs of its research and regulatory scientists and its enforcement specialists. The libraries also are a good resource for environmental data to the interested public. The issue at hand today is not a new one. In March 2006, Mr. Jeff Ruch, the Executive Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, testified before one of our subcommittees that a proposed funding cut of $2 million dollars for E.P.A.'s regional libraries would likely lead to the closure of library facilities. Surely enough, the cuts occurred, and libraries closed at the end of fiscal year 2006, including one library located in Dallas, Texas, which I represent. Despite Congressional requests to the Government Accountability Office regarding the effects of the E.P.A.'s library restructuring plan, seven libraries were closed without the holdings being digitized or secured for future access. While I can certainly support the Administration's interest to spend taxpayer dollars wisely, it seems to me that we are taking a step backward in making environmental resource data unavailable by closing these libraries. I will be interested to know what efforts have been made by the E.P.A. to make the information available to the public. In addition, I will be glad to hear the other witness testimony regarding the impact of these library closings. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. Chairman Miller. I believe that--yes, Mr. Hall. And Mr. Hall, if I ever return to the practice of law, I assume that I can use some part of what you said today in my promotional materials. All right. I believe that we have four photographs to show before we begin the testimony. The first photograph shows the sign that now greets library visitors at EPA headquarters. ``As of October 1, 2006, the EPA Headquarters Library space is closed.'' Now, the second photo shows the sign that greeted visitors at the Chicago library. ``This U.S.A. EPA Region 5 Library is permanently closed.'' The third photo, which was taken by our Committee staff, shows boxes of materials at the Headquarters Library. The final photograph shows empty shelves, again at headquarters. Those shelves, we assume, used to be full of the documents that EPA employees and independent scientists relied upon to do their work. Those photographs, as well as others taken by the Committee staff, or provided to the Committee, will also appear in the record. [The information follows:] [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Chairman Miller. So, with that, I want to introduce our witnesses. It is my pleasure to introduce our witnesses. Our first witness is Mr. John Stephenson, the Director of the Natural Resources and Environment Division at the Government Accountability Office. Mr. Charles Orzehoskie is the President of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, AFGE. Dr. Francesca Grifo is a Senior Scientist and Director of the Science Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Mr. Jim Rettig is the President of the American Library Association. And our final witness is Ms. Molly O'Neill, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Environmental Information and Chief Information Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency. Welcome to all our witnesses. You will each have five minutes for your spoken testimony, and you have, I think, all submitted written testimony, which will be included in the record of the hearing. When you all end your testimony we will begin with questions. And each Member will have five minutes to question the panel. All right. It is my intention to keep this hearing moving at a brisk pace. It looks like the usual sources of disruption are not, will not be the problem they are sometimes, so we should be able to do that. We will almost certainly be interrupted by votes. I say we, but it may just be me. I want to encourage all of my colleagues who may be watching this on the House Internet system to get back as quickly as possible, if they intend to attend any part of the meeting, so we can continue our business as rapidly as possible. It is our practice to take testimony under oath. This is an Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee. Do any of you have any objection to swearing an oath? Okay. You also have the right to be represented by Counsel. Is anyone here represented by Counsel at today's hearings? We ask these questions to put you at ease. Please stand and raise your right hand. [Witnesses sworn] Mr. Stephenson, please begin. STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN B. STEPHENSON, DIRECTOR, NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Mr. Stephenson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to be here today to discuss our report being released today on EPA's library restructuring. We conducted our review, as you have already mentioned, at the request of the Full Science and Technology Committee, as well as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The EPA's library network provides access to critical environmental information that the Agency needs to promote environmental awareness, conduct research, enforce environmental laws, make policy decisions, and fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment. The library network also provides information and services to state environmental agencies, local community organizations, and the general public. Before the reorganization, the network included 26 libraries, some at the EPA headquarters, but most at its ten regional offices, research centers, and laboratories around the country. In summary, as you have in your report, we found that in late 2006, the EPA embarked on an effort to restructure its library network by closing physical access to one headquarters and three regional office libraries, and reducing or changing operations at six others. In a separate move, it also closed its headquarters-based Chemical Library, containing vast information on hazardous chemicals and pesticides. Furthermore, some of the libraries began to digitize, disperse, and dispose of books, research studies, and other materials without a common set of Agency-wide guidance for doing so. EPA's approach created the risk that not only would library services not be improved, but they may actually be degraded. While exploring ways to restructure and make library operations more efficient is always a good idea, it should not be done haphazardly. Certainly, you don't close libraries, get rid of staff, and dispose of materials first, and then figure out what to do later. But it seems that that is exactly what happened here. EPA began restructuring its libraries without conducting several analyses that you would typically expect to see to adequately justify, plan, and implement such an important endeavor. For example, it did not fully survey EPA staff and other users to characterize their needs. It did not fully inventory its vast holdings to determine what it had and how it should be handled. It did not develop or analyze business, organizational, or technical models for improving service. It did not develop new policy and procedures to guide the library reorganization, nor did it do a basic cost-benefit analysis that OMB generally recommends for agency decisions such as this. According to the EPA officials that decided to proceed without completing such analyses, many of which were recommended, as you mention, in its own 2004 Library Study, to create $2 million in savings needed to contribute to the overall EPA reduction in the President's fiscal year 2007 budget proposal. Interestingly, EPA's Regional Managers usually have discretion as to how to absorb budget reductions such as this, but in fiscal year 2007, they agreed that the reduction would come from the libraries. As of today, EPA has still not developed an effective strategy or plan to ensure the continuity of library services. EPA's 2007 plan describes library reorganization as a phased approach, but it does not provide specific goals, timelines, or feedback mechanisms to measure performance and monitor user needs to ensure a successful reorganization while maintaining quality services. Moreover, library collections and services formerly provided by the closed libraries will now be provided on a fee for service basis by other libraries in the network, and some materials will be digitized and made available online, but EPA has yet to estimate what these activities will cost or where the funds will come from. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, our report contains recommendations to the EPA Administrator to continue the moratorium on further changes to the library network until the Agency: one, develops a comprehensive plan to justify and guide the implementation of its reorganization; two, institutes an outreach process to ensure that the views of all stakeholders affected by the reorganization are considered; three, creates mechanisms to ensure sufficient oversight to control the library reorganization and to monitor the impact on EPA staff and other users; and four, implements procedures to ensure library materials are appropriately handled. EPA agreed with the recommendations in the report, but now, it needs to take the next step and implement them. Mr. Chairman, that concludes the summary of my statement, and I will be happy to answer questions at the appropriate time. [The prepared statement of Mr. Stephenson follows:] Prepared Statement of John B. Stephenson Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am pleased to appear here today to discuss our recent review of the reorganization of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) library network, which is being released today.\1\ We conducted this review at the request of the House Committees on Science and Technology, Oversight and Government Reform, and Energy and Commerce, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ GAO, Environmental Protection: EPA Needs to Ensure That Best Practices and Procedures Are Followed When Making Further Changes to Its Library Network, GAO-08-304 (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 29, 2008). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you know, the library network provides access to critical environmental information that the agency needs to promote environmental awareness, conduct research, enforce environmental laws, make policy decisions, and fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment. The library network also provides information and services to State environmental agencies, local community organizations, and the general public to help these stakeholders in protecting human health and the environment. In fiscal year 2006, the network included 26 libraries across headquarters, regional offices, research centers, and laboratories, and these libraries were independently operated by several different EPA program offices, depending on the nature of the libraries' collections. In fiscal year 2007, EPA began to reorganize its library network on the basis of a 2006 reorganization plan issued by EPA's Office of Environmental Information (OEI). This plan focused on OEI's headquarters library and libraries located in each of the agency's 10 regional offices. The plan was intended to provide a framework for consolidating libraries and making more materials and services available online. My testimony, which is based on our report being released today on the EPA library network, addresses (1) the status of, and plans for, the library network reorganization; (2) EPA's rationale for its decision to reorganize the library network; (3) the extent to which EPA has communicated with and solicited views from EPA staff and external stakeholders in planning and implementing the reorganization; (4) the steps EPA has taken to maintain the quality of library services following the reorganization, both currently and in the future; and (5) how EPA is funding the library network and its reorganization. To address these objectives, we reviewed relevant EPA documents, policies, plans, and guidance as well as related laws and requirements pertinent to the library network and reorganization effort. We interviewed EPA librarians and library managers from each of the 26 libraries in EPA's library network as well as EPA officials knowledgeable about EPA's library network and budget. In addition, we interviewed representatives from local unions, who represent EPA staff, and regional science councils, which is a group that consists of EPA scientists and technical specialists. We also sought information from library professionals, including representatives from the American Library Association and the Association of Research Libraries; members of academia; and private consulting companies with expertise in libraries. We conducted this work from December 2006 through February 2008 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. Summary In summary, we found the following: <bullet> Since 2006, EPA has implemented its library reorganization plan and closed physical access to the OEI headquarters library and three regional office libraries. In the same period, six other libraries in the network independently changed their operations: one closed, four reduced their hours of operation, and one changed how it provides library services. Sixteen libraries did not change. Furthermore, some of these libraries digitized, dispersed, or disposed of their materials before EPA had drafted a common set of agency-wide library procedures for doing so. Until these procedures are completed, EPA plans no further changes to the library network. In addition to completing these procedures, the library network's future configuration and operations may depend on EPA's response to directions accompanying its fiscal year 2008 appropriation to use $1 million to restore libraries recently closed and EPA's 2008 library plan, which describes how EPA expects to operate the library network in the future. <bullet> EPA reorganized its library network primarily to generate cost savings through a more coordinated library network and more electronic delivery of services. However, we found that EPA did not effectively justify its reorganization decision. That is, before launching the reorganization, EPA did not conduct several analyses, including many that its own 2004 study of the libraries recommended, as well as a cost-benefit analysis that the Office of Management and Budget recommends. According to EPA officials, OEI decided to reorganize its libraries without completing the recommended analyses in order to reduce its fiscal year 2007 funding by $2 million to create the savings necessary for its headquarters library and the regional office libraries, per the President's fiscal year 2007 budget proposal. <bullet> EPA did not systematically inform the full range of stakeholders on the final configuration of the library network. In addition, EPA libraries varied considerably in the extent to which they communicated with and solicited views from staff, external stakeholders, and experts before and during the reorganization effort. Such efforts were limited or inconsistent because EPA acted quickly to make changes in response to a proposed fiscal year 2007 funding reduction and because of the decentralized nature of the library network. EPA is currently reaching out to stakeholders, including EPA staff and library experts, by holding and attending stakeholder meetings and conferences. <bullet> EPA does not yet have an effective strategy to ensure the continuity of library services following the reorganization and does not know the full effect of the reorganization on library services. EPA's library plan describes the reorganization effort as a ``phased approach,'' but it does not provide specific goals, timelines, or feedback mechanisms that allow the agency to measure performance and monitor user needs to ensure a successful reorganization while maintaining quality services. EPA did not follow key practices for a successful transformation, even though the agency made several changes to the library network that could have impaired the continued delivery of library materials and services to its staff and the public. For example, EPA did not determine whether federal property management regulations applied to the dispersal and disposal of library materials before it closed the libraries. Instead, EPA provided vague criteria and guidance to its libraries and did not adequately oversee the process. <bullet> The several different program offices responsible for the EPA libraries in the network each generally decide how much of their available funding to allocate to their libraries and how to fund their reorganization. For example, OEI typically provides funding for the regional office libraries through each region's support budget and gives regional management discretion on how to allocate this funding among the library and other support services. However, when faced with a proposed budget reduction of $2 million in fiscal year 2007, rather than following its normal procedures, OEI directed the regional and headquarters offices to reduce funding for OEI libraries--a reduction of 77 percent for these libraries from the previous fiscal year. EPA did not allocate funds to help closing libraries manage their collections; instead, the responsible program or regional office used its annual funding to pay for these costs. Services formerly provided by the closed libraries are now provided on a fee-for-service basis by other libraries in the network. While EPA did not track the costs associated with closing the libraries, it estimated that it spent about $80,000 through an existing contract to digitize 15,260 titles between December 2006 and January 2007. We recommended that the Administrator of EPA continue the agency's moratorium on changes to the library network until the agency (1) develops a strategy to justify its reorganization plans; (2) improves its outreach efforts; (3) ensures sufficient oversight and control over the reorganization process, and continuously and consistently monitors the impact of the reorganization on EPA staff and the public; and (4) implements procedures that ensure that library materials are dispersed and disposed of consistently and in accordance with federal property management regulations. EPA agreed with the recommendations made in our report. Background The EPA library network was established in 1971 to provide staff and the public with access to environmental information in support of EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment. The libraries differ in function, scope of collections, extent of services, and public access. Before the 2007 reorganization, the network comprised 26 libraries, each funded and managed by several different program offices at EPA: one library was managed by OEI and 10 by regional offices;\2\ eight libraries were located at EPA laboratories within the Office of Research and Development (ORD), and two were within the Office of Administration and Resources Management (OARM). In addition, each of the following program offices had one library: Office of the Administrator, Office of General Counsel, Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS), Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and Office of Air and Radiation. A national program manager within OEI was responsible for coordinating the major activities of the entire EPA library network. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ OEI primarily funds these regional office libraries. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aside from visiting a physical location, the network provides access to its collections to its staff and to the public through (1) a Web-based database of library holdings--the Online Library System (OLS); (2) interlibrary loans from another network library or a public library; and (3) through a separate online database--the National Environmental Publications Internet Site (NEPIS). EPA staff also have access to other information sources--such as online journals, the Federal Register, news, databases of bibliographic information, and article citations--from their desktop computers. EPA began to evaluate its library network in 2003. It developed and issued studies to determine the value of library services and inform regional management of their options to support library services beyond fiscal year 2006.\3\ EPA also issued an internal report in November 2005, which offered recommendations on how to maintain an effective library network if the library support budget were reduced. After these reports were issued, EPA established a Library Steering Committee-- composed of senior managers from EPA's program offices and regions--to develop a new model for providing library services to EPA staff. In August 2006, the steering committee issued the EPA FY 2007 Library Plan: National Framework for the Headquarters and Regional Libraries. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Information, Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers, EPA 260-R-04-001 (January 2004); and Optional Approaches to U.S. EPA Regional Library Support, EPA 260-R-05-002 (June 2005). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The August 2006 library plan provided the framework for the network to begin reorganizing in the summer of 2006 in preparation for the proposed fiscal year 2007 budget reduction beginning in October 2006. The plan provided guidelines for EPA staff to determine how the collections would be managed; noted that OEI libraries in Regions 5, 6, and 7 would close, and that the headquarters library would close physical access to its collection but would function as a repository library, along with the OARM libraries in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. In addition, according to the plan, EPA is to develop Library Centers of Excellence, where a library with more expertise in a specific area of reference research would provide that service to staff in other regions. Some Libraries Independently Decided to Close, Reduce Their Hours, or Take Other Actions, but the Final Network Configuration Is Still Uncertain As a part of EPA's 2006 reorganization effort, some EPA libraries have closed, reduced their hours of operation, or changed the way that they provide library services. Furthermore, some of these libraries have digitized, dispersed, or disposed of their materials. The future of EPA's library network--its configuration and its operations--are contingent on final policies and procedures, on EPA's response to directions accompanying its fiscal year 2008 appropriation, and on EPA's 2008 library plan. Owing to the decentralized nature of the EPA library network, each library decided on its own whether to change its operations. Table 1 shows the operating status of each library in the EPA library network. [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] While EPA's August 2006 library plan noted that three regional libraries--Regions 5, 6, and 7--and the headquarters library would close physical access to their libraries, it did not reflect other changes that occurred, as shown in Table 1. According to EPA officials, the plan focused on the OEI headquarters and regional office libraries, and they did not think it was necessary to reflect all changes that were planned for other libraries. The focus of the plan, according to EPA officials, was to set the framework on how library services would be provided electronically and not on what physical changes were to occur. Although no longer accessible to walk-in traffic from EPA staff and the public, the closed regional and headquarters libraries continue to provide library services, such as interlibrary loans and research/ reference requests, to EPA staff through service agreements that the closed libraries established with libraries managed by OARM or with the Region 3 library located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.\4\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \4\ OARM libraries are located in Cincinnati, Ohio and in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The OARM libraries and the Region 3 library have been designated as Centers of Excellence for the EPA library network, meaning that these libraries have staff qualified to conduct research in specific areas, have access to tools to support services, and have the ability to handle increased workload. According to EPA officials, the OARM libraries serve as Centers of Excellence for core library services, such as research requests and interlibrary loans, and the Region 3 library serves as a Center of Excellence for business research issues. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As part of the library reorganization, each library in the network that was planning to close access to walk-in services independently decided which materials would be retained at their library or be selected for digitization, dispersal to EPA or non-EPA libraries, or disposal. Table 2 shows the actions taken by the closed libraries. [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] In terms of digitization, the criteria in the August 2006 library plan noted that unique EPA materials--which, according to EPA officials, refers to materials created by or for EPA--that are not already electronically available in NEPIS would be digitized and made available in NEPIS. At the time of our review, 15,260 titles had been digitized, and EPA anticipates that a total of about 51,000 unique EPA library materials from closed and open libraries will be digitized. In terms of dispersal, EPA's library plan noted that a library choosing to disperse its materials can send materials to one of the EPA-designated repositories, other libraries in the library network, EPA regional record management centers, other federal agency libraries, state libraries and state environmental agency libraries, colleges and university libraries, public libraries, or e-mail networks used specifically to exchange library materials. Finally, in terms of disposal, the OEI headquarters library and the OPPTS Chemical Library disposed of some of their materials as a part of the reorganization. EPA's library plan noted that certain materials not claimed during the dispersal process could be destroyed. In total, the OEI headquarters library has disposed of over 800 journals and books, and the Chemical Library has disposed of over 3,000 journals and books. Recognizing that libraries could function more cohesively as a network, EPA established a new interim library policy in 2007 and established uniform governance and management for the network. This interim policy, among other things, (1) re-established the National Library Program Manager position, which was left vacant from 2005 through 2007 and (2) resulted in 12 draft agency-wide library procedures, including procedures on digitizing and dispersing library materials, and developing a communication strategy. EPA officials told us that they do not have a time frame for completing these procedures but will complete them before the moratorium on changes to the network is lifted. The January 2007 moratorium was imposed in response to congressional and other concerns, and extended indefinitely in February 2007. The future of the library network, its configuration, and its operations are contingent on the completion of the final policies and procedures, on EPA's response to directions accompanying its fiscal year 2008 appropriation,\5\ and on EPA's 2008 library plan. In an explanatory statement accompanying the fiscal year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, $1 million was allocated to restore the network of EPA libraries that were recently closed or consolidated. The explanatory statement also directed EPA to submit a plan to the Committees on Appropriations within 90 days of enactment regarding actions it will take to restore the network. Separately; EPA officials told us that they are developing a Library Strategic Plan for 2008 and Beyond, which details EPA's library services for staff and the public and a vision for the future of the library network. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \5\ Pub. L. No. 110-161. EPA Did Not Effectively Justify Its Decision to Reorganize Its Library Network EPA reorganized its library network primarily to save costs by creating a more coordinated library network and increasing the electronic delivery of library services. However, EPA did not fully complete several analyses, including many that its 2004 study recommended. In addition, EPA's decision to reorganize its library network was not based on a thorough analyses of the costs and benefits associated with such a reorganization. EPA initiated its 2004 Business Case study because of ongoing budget uncertainties and because of technological changes in how users obtain information and how commercial information resources are made available. While the study concluded that EPA's libraries provide ``substantial value'' to the agency and the public, it raised concerns about EPA's ability to continue services in its present form. As such, the study recommended that EPA take several actions to foster an agency-wide discussion on the library network's future. In addition, according to Office of Management and Budget guidance, a benefit-cost analysis should be conducted to support decisions to initiate, renew, or expand programs or projects, and that in conducting such an analysis, tangible and intangible benefits and costs should be identified, assessed, and reported.\6\ One element of this analysis is an evaluation of alternatives to consider different methods of providing services to achieve program objectives. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \6\ Office of Management and Budget, Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Federal Programs, OMB Circular A-94 (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 29, 1992). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- However, EPA did not fully complete these assessments before it closed libraries and began to reorganize the network. According to EPA officials, EPA decided to reorganize its libraries without fully completing the recommended analyses in order to reduce its fiscal year 2007 funding for the OEI headquarters and regional office libraries by $2 million. This claimed savings, however, was not substantiated by any formal EPA cost assessment. According to EPA officials, the $2 million funding reduction was informally estimated in 2005 with the expectation that EPA would have been further along in its library reorganization before fiscal year 2007. Furthermore, EPA did not comprehensively assess library network spending in advance of the $2 million estimation of budget cuts. By not completing a full assessment of its library resources and not conducting a benefit-cost analysis of various approaches to reorganizing the network, EPA did not justify the reorganization actions in a way that fully considered and ensured adequate support for the mission of the library network, the continuity of services provided to EPA staff and the public, the availability of EPA materials to a wider audience, and the potential cost savings. In effect, EPA attempted to achieve cost savings without (1) first determining whether potential savings were available and (2) performing the steps that its own study specified as necessary before moving forward. EPA Did Not Fully Inform or Solicit Views from the Full Range of Stakeholders on the Reorganization But Is Now Increasing Its Outreach Efforts Communicating with and soliciting views from staff and other stakeholders axe key components of successful mergers and transformations.\7\ We have found that an organization's transformation or merger is strengthened when it (1) makes public implementation goals and a timeline; (2) establishes an agency-wide communication strategy and involves staff to obtain their ideas, which among other things, involves communicating early and often to build trust, ensuring consistency of message, and incorporating staff feedback into new policies and procedures; and (3) adopts leading practices, such as those for library services, to build a world-class organization. While EPA did not fully take these actions during the library reorganization, it is now reaching out to both EPA staff and external stakeholders. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \7\ GAO, Results-Oriented Cultures: Implementing Steps to Assist Mergers and Organizational Transformations, GAO-03-669 (Washington, D.C.: July 2, 2003). This report identified nine key practices and related implementation steps that have led to successful mergers and transformations in large private and public sector organizations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- EPA's August 2006 library plan did not inform stakeholders on the final configuration for the library network or implementation goals and a timeline. Through the library plan, EPA generally informed internal and external stakeholders of its vision for the reorganized library network, noting that EPA would be moving toward a new model of providing library services to EPA staff and the public. However, EPA did not provide enough information on how the final library network would be configured or the implementation goals and timeline it would take to achieve this configuration. For example, EPA did not inform its staff or the public that OPPTS would close its Chemical Library and that other libraries would reduce their hours of operation or make other changes to their library services. According to OEI officials, the plan was intended to provide a framework for how new services would be provided and not to lay out the network's physical configuration. Without a clear picture of what EPA intends to achieve with the library network reorganization and the implementation goals and timeline to achieve this intended outcome, EPA staff may not know if progress is being made, which could limit support for the network reorganization. Because EPA's library structure was decentralized, EPA did not have an agency-wide communication strategy to inform EPA staff of, and solicit their views on, the changes occurring in the library network, leaving that responsibility to each EPA library. As a result, EPA libraries varied considerably in the information they provided to staff on library changes. For example, management in only a few of the regions solicited views from their regional staff through discussions with their regional science councils--an employee group located in each region composed of EPA scientists and technical specialists--or unions.\8\ In addition, EPA generally did not communicate with and solicit views from external stakeholders before and during the reorganization because it was moving quickly to make changes in response to proposed funding cuts. Of the libraries that closed, only the headquarters library informed the public of the changes occurring at its library by posting a notification in the Federal Register.\9\ EPA also did not fully communicate with and solicit views from professional library associations while planning and implementing its library reorganization. EPA did meet with the American Library Association, a professional library association, on a few occasions, but did so later in the reorganization planning process. Without an agency-wide communication strategy, staff ownership for the changes may be limited, and staff may be confused about the changes. Furthermore, EPA cannot be sure that the changes are meeting the needs of EPA staff and external stakeholders. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \8\ In September 2007, the national EPA union held arbitration talks with EPA. The EPA union won its unfair labor practice claim against the agency. More specifically, the Federal Labor Relations Authority administrative law judge ruled that EPA violated federal labor law by failing to enter arbitration with the union regarding its grievance about the library restructuring. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency v. American Federation of Government Employees. The ruling also required the agency to post signs notifying employees that EPA had violated labor law. On February 15, 2008, an arbitrator found that EPA had violated provisions of the Master Collective Bargaining Agreement by not engaging the union in impact and implementation bargaining pertaining to the reorganization of its library network. EPA v. American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, FMCS Case No. 07-50725 (George Edward Lamey, Arbitrator). \9\ 71 Fed. Reg. 54,986 (Sept. 20, 2006). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, EPA did not solicit views from federal and industry experts regarding the digitization of library materials and other issues. These experts could have provided leading practice information and guidance on digitization processes and standards for library materials. As such, EPA cannot be sure that it is using leading practices for library services. Recognizing the need to communicate with and solicit the views of staff, external stakeholders, and industry experts, EPA recently increased its outreach efforts. For example, EPA asked local unions to comment on a draft of the 2008 library plan, and attended and presented information at a stakeholder forum at which a number of professional library associations were present. Furthermore, OEI started working with the Federal Library Information Center Committee, a committee managed by the Library of Congress, to develop a board of advisers that will respond to EPA administrators and librarians' questions about the future direction of EPA libraries. EPA Lacks a Strategy to Ensure Continuity of Library Services and Does Not Know Whether Its Actions Have Impaired Access to Environmental Information EPA does not yet have a strategy to ensure that library services will continue and does not know the full effect of the reorganization on library services. However, several changes it has made may have limited access to library materials and services. According to our review of key practices and implementation steps to assist mergers and organizational transformations, organizations that are undergoing change should seek and monitor staff attitudes and take the appropriate follow-up actions. While EPA's library plan describes the reorganization effort as a ``phased approach,'' it does not provide specific goals, timelines, or feedback mechanisms so that the agency can measure performance and monitor user needs to ensure a successful reorganization while maintaining quality services. In addition, to balance the continued delivery of services with merger and transformation activities, it is essential that top leadership drives the transformation. However, during the reorganization, EPA did not have a national program manager for the library network to oversee and guide the reorganization effort. Several changes that EPA made to its library network may have impaired the continued delivery of library materials and services. For example, because of copyright issues, only unique reports produced by or for EPA will be digitized in NEPIS--only about 10 percent of EPA's holdings of books and reports. If the material is not available electronically, EPA staff in locations where libraries have closed will receive the material through an interlibrary loan--delaying access to the materials from one day to up to 20 days. EPA also does not have a plan to ensure the continuation of library services for the public, such as State and local government environmental agencies, environmental groups, and other nongovernmental organizations. Furthermore, EPA may have inadvertently limited access to information because it did not determine whether federal property management regulations applied to the dispersal and disposal of library materials and hence may have disposed of materials that should have been retained. For example, the Regions 5 and 6 libraries gave materials to private companies, and the OEI headquarters library and the Chemical Library discarded materials without first determining that they had no monetary value. EPA officials stated that it was unclear whether library materials, such as books and journals, were subject to federal property management regulations. EPA officials stated that they will engage federal property management officials at GSA regarding what steps should be taken in the future. EPA Program Offices Are Responsible for Funding Their Libraries and Their Reorganization Through Their Support Budgets The program offices responsible for the EPA libraries in the network generally decide how much of their available funding to allocate to their libraries out of larger accounts that support multiple activities. Until fiscal year 2007, library spending had remained relatively stable, ranging from about $7.14 million to $7.85 million between fiscal years 2002 and 2006.\10\ OEI, which is the primary source of funding for the regional libraries, typically provides funding for them through each region's support budget, and generally allows regional management to decide how to allocate this funding among the library and other support services, such as information technology. For fiscal year 2007, OEI management decided to reduce funding for the OEI headquarters and regional office libraries by $2 million, from $2.6 million in enacted funding for fiscal year 2006--a 77 percent reduction for these libraries and a 28 percent reduction in total library funding. After $500,000 of the $2 million reduction was applied to the headquarters library, the regional administrators together decided that the remaining $1.5 million reduction should be spread equally across all regions, rather than by staffing ratios in each region or previous years' spending. The $2 million reduction for the libraries was included in the President's fiscal year 2007 budget proposal for EPA. However, like most agencies, EPA was included in the full-year continuing resolution, which held appropriations near fiscal year 2006 levels. The continuing resolution was enacted after EPA began reorganizing the library network. According to EPA, OEI restored $500,000 to the library budget in fiscal year 2007 to support reorganization activities. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \10\ These figures are based on estimates from EPA. We did not independently determine their accuracy. Because EPA does not track library funding, each library in the network provided estimates that were based on past spending and enacted funding. However, libraries may have varied in the type of spending data provided in terms of whether the data included contract costs, salaries, and acquisitions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- When planning the reorganization, EPA recognized that the responsible dispersal, disposal, and digitization of an EPA library collection is a major project requiring planning, time, and resources. However, EPA did not allocate funds specifically to help the closing libraries manage their collections. According to EPA, the funding for library closures was taken into account during the budget process. As a result, the program or regional office responsible for the library used its usual library funding available at the end of fiscal year 2006 to pay for closing costs. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be happy to respond to any questions that you and Members of the Subcommittee may have. Biography for John B. Stephenson Mr. Stephenson is currently the Director of Natural Resource and Environment issues for the U.S. Government Accountability Office--the independent investigative arm of the Congress. In that capacity, he has for the past eight years directed numerous studies and research projects, issued hundreds of reports, and testified on many occasions before several Senate and House Committees. His work has provided invaluable assistance to the Congress in its oversight and legislative role on diverse environmental protection issues such as clean air, clean water, safe drinking water, chemical controls, toxic substances, climate change, superfund, and hazardous materials spill prevention and cleanup, as well as critical infrastructure protection. He began his career in GAO's Cincinnati Field Office, and transferred to GAO's Washington D.C. headquarters office in 1987 where he worked on a variety of information technology and national and international security issues. From April 1998-February 2000, he was Deputy Staff Director for the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem for the Chairman (Senator Robert Bennett, R-UT), and Vice Chairman (Senator Christopher Dodd, D-CT). In that capacity, he ran the day-to-day operations of the Committee including orchestrating over 35 hearings, preparing legislation, organizing briefings and floor activities for the full Senate, working with the White House's Year 2000 Director and staff, and organizing numerous press and public events. He returned to GAO in March 2000 where he was executive assistant to the U.S. Comptroller General (the head of GAO) until entering the Senior Executive Service in October 2000. Mr. Stephenson holds a BS degree in Industrial Management from Purdue University, an MBA from Xavier University, and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Senior Executive Fellows program. He lives in Fairfax Station, Virginia with his wife, his 11- year-old daughter, and his 9-year-old son. Chairman Miller. Thank you, Mr. Stephenson. Mr. Orzehoskie. STATEMENT OF MR. CHARLES ORZEHOSKIE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EPA LOCALS #238, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES Mr. Orzehoskie. Good morning. I would like to thank Chairman Miller, Congressman Sensenbrenner, and Members of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight for this opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Charles Orzehoskie. I am President, AFGE Council 238, and I have worked for EPA for over 37 years, more than 20 of those years as a supervisor. I hold an engineering degree from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago. Our organization, AFGE Council 238, represents almost 9,000 employees of EPA, and 11 locals throughout the country, and we strive to improve the working conditions and agency efficiency. For EPA to carry out our mission requires a deep understanding of environmental science that EPA engineers and scientists have historically utilized the EPA libraries and library staff to assist them in that effort. Sadly, EPA library services are no longer available to staff or to the general public at two headquarters libraries and three regional offices. Yet, on February 6 of 2007, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson testified before the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, stating: ``We discontinued walk-in service at five of our 26 libraries, and reduced the hours of operation at other libraries. However, the services provided remain unchanged.'' Council 238 does not understand Administrator Johnson's statement. For example, he must not have visited Chicago recently, because the space where the library was located is vacant. Even the furniture has been sold. How have the services provided remained unchanged, particularly for any person who does not receive EPA messages explaining the new library procedures? Administrator Johnson further testified, ``EPA saw a decline in the walk-in traffic at many of our libraries,'' implying the public's demand for information had decreased. The decline in walk-in traffic may be due, in part, to increased security measures at federal buildings since 9/11, and EPA budget reductions in public outreach programs, but the public's interest in environmental issues remains strong. At the same hearing, Leslie Burger, President of the American Library Association, testified: ``Is the EPA library plan based on end-users' needs? Apparently not.'' The Council tried to work with the EPA on this issue, but we were stonewalled. Management was apparently not interested in the Agency's engineers and scientists had to say about EPA libraries. Unfortunately, so many of this Administrator's decisions appear to based on the President's Management Agenda, PMA, and not on the mandate of Congress, the will of the American people, or what would be best for accomplishing EPA's mission. We have many concerns about closing libraries. Let me just summarize that common sense suggests that to make sound scientific decisions, data and information are at the heart of a good process, and closing libraries at this time appears to work counter to that objective. We have been told that the libraries were closed to save the government money, yet this doesn't make sense. EPA's own Office of Environmental Information did a cost-benefit analysis in 2004, which estimated that EPA's library network saved Agency professional staff 214,000 hours, a cost saving of approximately $7.5 million. The benefit-to-cost ratio was conservatively estimated at 4.4 to one. EPA management has stated that closing the libraries was also an act of modernization. Hopefully, at some time in the future, we will see positive results of modernization. However, wouldn't it have made sense to have piloted the project, tested how well digitization worked, and only then considered whether there was a need for redundancy of hardcopy? More should have been done before declaring ``Mission Accomplished,'' turning off the lights, locking the doors, and tossing out documents. When AFGE Council 238 first raised the issue of libraries, EPA rebuffed the Council, saying the Union's request for input was premature. In March of 2006, after EPA Region 5 announced the regional library would close, we issued a demand to bargain over the libraries, thinking the issue was now ripe for negotiations. However, management again refused to bargain, and instead, went ahead and dismantled EPA libraries. On August 16, 2006, Council 238 filed a grievance against EPA for failure to negotiate. Filed by Council 238 invoking arbitration over the grievance after the Agency declined to settle. Still, the Agency refused to bargain. On February 5, 2007, we filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for the Agency's failure to pick an arbitrator. FLRA Judge Pearson ordered the Agency ``to cease and desist from failing or refusing to proceed to arbitration, or interfering with its employees in their rights to exercise their rights assured by the Federal Service Labor Management Relations statute.'' Then, on September 25, 2007, an arbitration was heard, and Arbitrator George E. Larney's opinion was issued last month. The opinion found that the Agency had violated applicable provisions of the union contract when it acted to forestall and preclude engaging the Council in bargaining. The Arbitrator ruled to sustain the grievance and order the Agency to engage the Council in bargaining. Arbitrator Larney stated in his finding: ``The evidence reveals that the Agency stonewalled the Union with regard to negotiations, let alone allowing the Union a real and viable role in the library reorganization process.'' Arbitrator Larney went on to state: ``If the Agency's conduct was not bad enough, the Agency compounded the error of its ways by closing libraries unilaterally without the benefit of legitimate Union input.'' EPA's report to Congress on reopening the libraries is due later this month. Yet EPA, even after Larney's ruling, has failed to meet with the Council to negotiate any aspect of the library closing. This type of behavior, where EPA ignores the rights of its employees, must stop. In conclusion, the EPA should depend on impartial research and science to make informed decisions, and a first class EPA library can help with those decisions. Council 238 would like to see the libraries reopened and restored by the end of this fiscal year, and we thank Congress for providing $1 million in the fiscal year 2008 budget to reopen the libraries. However, we are concerned that the funding may be insufficient to get all of the libraries open, and there was no funding to hire research librarians, a critical aspect of any library, let alone a state of the art environmental library. Finally, in almost four decades of working for EPA, I have never experienced such an unprecedented level of political consideration in the performance of EPA's missions. This political influence threatens the integrity of EPA engineers and scientists, and undermines the very mission of the Agency, and must stop. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak on behalf of AFGE Council 238 and its almost 9,000 engineers, scientists, and staff, which we represent. I am happy to take any questions from the Committee. [The prepared statement of Mr. Orzehoskie follows:] Prepared Statement of Charles Orzehoskie Good morning, Chairman Miller, Congressman Sensenbrenner and Members of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. I thank you for this opportunity to appear before you today to present AFGE Council 238's views about the closure of EPA's libraries. INTRODUCTION My name is Charles Orzehoskie. I am President of the National Council of EPA Locals# 238 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). I have worked for EPA for over 37 years as a professional engineer in the construction grants program, facilities planning, and 208 plans under the Clean Water Act, and served as Chief of EPA Region 5's Wetlands Enforcement Program. Over 20 years of my EPA service has been as a supervisor, including two years on an Interagency Personnel Agreement to the Indiana Department of Environment Management as Chief of their Facilities Development Branch. I am a Licensed Attorney in the State of Illinois, and have been a Registered Professional Engineer in the States of Indiana and Illinois. Additionally, I served two terms as the Vice President of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers, and have been a member of both the American Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. AFGE COUNCIL 238 AFGE Council 238 represents almost 9,000 employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who are first and foremost, committed to the protection of human health and the environment, and ensuring that our nation's environmental acts, laws and regulations are carried out. AFGE Council 238's mission is to strive to improve workplace conditions so that EPA employees have the opportunity, support and tools needed to accomplish EPA's mission and advance in their chosen field and respective careers. AFGE Council 238 does this as our employees' exclusive legal representative in national labor negotiations, and works to obtain agreements which provide our members with a supportive work environment and improved opportunities to work more effectively and efficiently for the protection of human health and the environment. EPA'S MISSION AND WHY LIBRARIES ARE IMPORTANT EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment. To carry out that mission requires a deep understanding of environmental science and technology. EPA engineers, risk assessors, and scientists rely heavily on EPA technical information and have over the years utilized EPA libraries to perform their jobs in an effective and efficient manner. EPA library staff provide Agency professionals with the latest research on cutting-edge environmental, homeland security and public health issues. In addition, EPA libraries conduct business searches for EPA inspectors, investigators, and enforcement officers, providing a host of other resources that cannot be found with a standard Internet search. EPA technical library staff provide vital support services that allow EPA employees to spend more time conducting inspections, writing public health and environmental policies and reports, and enforcing and implementing EPA regulations. EPA LIBRARY CLOSURES Sadly, EPA library services are no longer available to EPA staff or the general public at two EPA Headquarters libraries and three Regional libraries (Region 5 in Chicago, Region 6 in Dallas, and Region 7 in Kansas City)--which serve 15 states. EPA libraries in Regions 1 (Boston), 2 (New York), 9 (San Francisco), and 10 (Seattle) have reduced hours. The closure of EPA Headquarters' Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) library was a particularly severe loss to the public, research institutes, as well as EPA engineers, risk assessors, and scientists. CLOSURE OF OPPTS HEADQUARTERS LIBRARY The EPA Headquarters OPPTS Chemical Library was shut down on October 20, 2006. It provided research services to EPA scientists who review industry requests for the introduction of new chemicals into the environment. Among other holdings, the library contained unique toxicological studies on the potential effects of pesticides on children, up-to-date research on genetically engineered chemicals and other biotech products, and extensive literature on emergency planning and chemical risk assessments. EPA scientists often begin their reviews by looking at the effects of similar chemicals or analogues--a technique hampered by closing the library housing research on chemicals and their effects. Headquarters EPA scientists now have fewer resources to conduct thorough analyses on hundreds of new chemicals for which companies are clamoring for ``EPA approval.'' When it was closed, the OPPTS library's valuable, paper-only collection was moved into boxes, and stored in a Headquarters basement cafeteria. EPA made no public announcement concerning its dismantling of the OPPTS Library, nor was it mentioned in the ``EPA FY 2007 Framework'' as one of the several libraries slated to be shuttered. It is a travesty that EPA closed this all important library critical to the Agency's mission and the general public. We concur with Leslie Burger, President of the American Library Association and Director of the Princeton Library, when she testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on February 6, 2007, ``In an age of global warming and heightened public awareness about the environment, it seems ironic that the Administration would choose this time to limit access to years of research about the environment.'' WHY PUBLIC ACCESS TO EPA LIBRARIES IS CRUCIAL Public access to EPA libraries is crucial because without it, organizations such as the Lake Michigan Federation may never have come into existence. While raising four children in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s, Lee Botts became involved as a volunteer in several local issues leading up to taking a leadership role in the campaign which in 1966 resulted in the creation of the Federal Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. In 1971, Ms. Botts founded the Lake Michigan Federation. The Lake Michigan Federation was the first independent citizens' organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of a specific Great Lake. Part of the reason for Ms. Botts' success was her frequent visits to the EPA Region 5 library in Chicago. Today, the Lake Michigan Federation is known as the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and has been instrumental in the effort to restore the sixth largest lake in the world. EPA Region 5's library is now closed, so I am concerned for the new Lee Botts of this country who may not have access to a world-class environmental library. IMPACT OF EPA LIBRARY CLOSURES ON STAFF On February 6, 2007, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, stating in part, ``We discontinued walk-in services at five of our 26 libraries and reduced the hours of operations at some other libraries. However, the services provided remain unchanged.'' AFGE Council 238 does not understand Administrator Johnson's statement based upon the fact that there are no libraries in Region 5 (Chicago), Region 6 (Dallas), and Region 7 (Kansas City) or at EPA Headquarters, particularly the OPPTS library. In Chicago, the space is vacant; even the furniture has been sold. How have ``. . .the services provided remain unchanged. . .''? We surveyed some of our bargaining unit and they indicated adverse impacts due to the closure of the EPA Library in their location. High on the list of concerns and complaints was the loss of quick and direct access by EPA Ecologists, Environmental Engineers, Environmental Health Scientists, Environmental Scientists, Risk Assessors, and Toxicologists, among others, to EPA studies, reports, and reference materials. Many of our top engineers, risk assessors and scientists find themselves either purchasing their own expensive reference texts, or spending time in university libraries that might otherwise be better spent if we had our libraries back. High on the list of concerns in Chicago was the loss of the specialized reference materials for the Great Lakes National Program Office. Yet on February 6, 2007, EPA Administrator Johnson testified that, ``Let me also assure you that unique EPA material has been retained, catalogued, and is available to EPA and the public.'' Our bargaining unit employees tell us they cannot access some of these materials. Does EPA management know where all of the Great Lakes National Program Office material is? Can they assure us that ALL of the ``. . .unique EPA material has been retained, catalogued, and is available to EPA and the public?'' Administrator Johnson also testified on February 6, 2007, ``EPA saw a decline in the walk-in traffic at many of our libraries,'' implying that the public's demand for information had decreased. EPA libraries were used as repositories for information on Superfund Sites, among other things, which the general public has now lost access to in at least four major metropolitan areas (Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and Washington, DC). The decline in walk-in traffic may be due in part to increased security measures at federal buildings since 9-11. We also believe that EPA budget reductions in public outreach programs have contributed to a decline in walk-in traffic. However, I do believe that the general public's interest in environmental issues is still strong. I am left with the question as to whether or not EPA wants walk-in traffic and a public engaged in environmental decision-making. If the Agency really wanted to find out what the public wanted or needed from EPA libraries, it should have publicly noticed its proposed changes to library services AND held information sessions in the locations where the libraries were either going to be closed or the hours reduced. EPA employees have already experienced significant decreases in the support necessary to maintain their ability to work effectively and efficiently due to decreases in travel and training dollars. Now with the decreases in networking support EPA libraries offered, their ability to perform their jobs has been further diminished. The loss of institutional memory, as well as the loss of expertise from professional librarians in the Regions, hampers the scientific decision-making process. The current Administrator maintains that he wants decisions that are scientifically based, yet the ability of EPA staff to accomplish sound science continues to be impaired. Is the real goal to have even more of the technical assistance and evaluations contracted out at higher cost to the taxpayer? How much money can EPA possibly save by taking away reasonable access to newswires and reports that inform Agency technical staff of so many issues that impact EPA's mission, in a condensed and summarized form? The idea of taking away EPA staffs' easy access to important environmental journals is appalling. Certainly, it can be said that EPA's library plan was not based on an assessment of the end-users needs. On February 6, 2007, Leslie Burger testified, ``Is EPA's library plan based on the end-users' needs? Apparently not. . .ALA doesn't see what's being done as connected to users' needs in any way.'' AFGE Council 238 agrees with Ms. Burger's testimony. The Council tried to work with EPA management but was stonewalled. Management was apparently not interested in what the Agency engineers, risk assessors, and scientists had to say about EPA libraries. The Administration's action in shuttering EPA Libraries appears penny wise, pound foolish and a step backwards in protecting the environment. Unfortunately, so many of the Administrator's decisions appear to be based on the President's Management Agenda, and not on the mandates of Congress, the will of the American people or what would be in the best interest of accomplishing EPA's mission. AFGE COUNCIL 238 IS CONCERNED: <bullet> Because the $2 million budget cut for EPA libraries was proposed by the President and the Office of Management and Budget, but carried out without Congressional approval by EPA management. AFGE Council 238 believes that the EPA library closures reduces the effectiveness of EPA, and continues to demoralize its employees. <bullet> About the sudden, draconian manner, in which EPA libraries were closed, with little regard to protection of unique collections of technical reports and documents, such as the Great Lakes collection. We consider it one more example of suppressing information on environmental and public health- related topics. <bullet> Because we consider the EPA library closures to be an ``environmental justice'' (EJ) issue. At least four major metropolitan areas have lost EPA libraries--Chicago (Region 5), Dallas (Region 6), Kansas City (Region 7), and Washington, DC (Headquarters). It is an EJ issue because people of color and lower economic means have been impacted disproportionately by these library closures since they rely more heavily on publicly accessible services. <bullet> In the interim, until digitization is completed, the ability of EPA to respond to emergencies may well be reduced because important reference materials are not available or will take a significant time to be retrieved from storage or another library. <bullet> That the public will no longer have convenient access to many of EPA's past reports and technical documents, even though EPA management has indicated that the public will get their information either from EPA hotlines, program staff (which would require a Freedom of Information Act or FOIA request), or from the EPA website. <bullet> EPA management has assured Agency personnel and the general public that all documents will be available ``on- line,'' for easy retrieval. Yet, EPA's own National Environmental Publications Information System has indicated that thousands of documents have yet to be ``digitized.'' EPA'S RATIONALE--TO PROMOTE INCREASED EFFICIENCIES Senior EPA managers touted the message that the $2 million budget reduction, and subsequent library closures, would promote increased ``efficiencies,'' with virtually all EPA reports being available in an electronic format. These ``savings'' were illusory, and nothing could have been further from the truth. Here are some sobering facts regarding the EPA library closures: <bullet> EPA's Office of Environmental Information (OEI), in a cost-benefit analysis completed in 2004 (``Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers,'' EPA-260-R-04-001, January 2004), estimated that EPA's library network saved Agency professional staff more than 214,000 hours--a cost savings of approximately $7.5 million. The benefit to cost ratio was conservatively estimated at 4.4-to-1. Despite this study indicating cost savings by maintaining these specialized environmental libraries, EPA shuttered those same libraries in a ``cost savings'' move. It is interesting to note that this report stated, ``Librarians are found to save professional staff as much as 16 hours ``per question answered.'' Patron surveys also suggest that librarians save professional staff approximately one hour ``per document delivered.'' That adds up to huge hidden costs in wasted salary dollars when you multiply EPA staffs' time to do their own library searches. The report even explains why this happens: ``Library patrons do not always come with well-formed questions or clearly articulated requests for specific information resources. Rather, research is frequently a joint venture between the patron and the librarian.'' I find it pretty sad that Agency management apparently ignored this report in its frenzy to shutter EPA libraries. The Agency's own report stated, ``Many of EPA's mission activities entail the need for rapid and/or repeated access to relatively specialized collections of data, scientific information and methods, and legal and legislative information. Similarly, it is necessary for EPA scientists, economists, attorneys, financial analysts, and other professional staff to stay abreast of cutting-edge developments and state-of-the-discipline information. The establishment of these collections enable EPA professionals to save time during the research phase of their activities, to conduct rapid turnaround research projects in response to evolving events, and to complete research projects that might have been stymied were unique and appropriate references not immediately available.'' The report concluded that EPA libraries were ``. . .clearly a source of substantial value to the Agency, its stakeholders, and the public. Even employing the most conservative of assumptions, benefit-to-cost ratios for core library services indicate that libraries ``give back'' far more than they take in terms of Agency resources. . ..'' As a result of the EPA library closures, we have literally thousands of EPA staff conducting their own library searches. This is not a cost-effective use of EPA employees' time. We find the February 6, 2007, testimony of Ms. Leslie Burger particularly on point regarding the need for librarians when she stated, ``ALA understands that we are living in the 21st century, an age when users can access much of what they need from their own desk. . .. But the bottom line is that libraries still need skilled professionals to a) assist users, b) organize Internet access, and c) determine the best way to make the information available to those users. When searching the EPA site, one retrieves thousands of hits for a topic such as ``water.'' When qualifying the search by a date range the results include items outside the date range. The user will wonder about the veracity of the data and will need the assistance of the librarian.'' <bullet> Some of EPA's library collections were dispersed without establishing any standard procedures or criteria to ensure that important documents were not lost. For instance, the EPA Region 5 library in Chicago closed on September 30, 2006, and its collections were offered to other libraries. Ms. Leslie Burger in her February 6, 2007, testimony stated ``What this ``dispersement'' entails isn't exactly clear at this point and what concerns us is how this information will be handled, and therefore what type of long-term damage has been done to the effectiveness of EPA and the ability of the American public to find important environmental and government information.'' Can EPA management account for ALL of the documents and materials from, for example the Great Lakes collection? <bullet> The National Environmental Publications Information System, EPA's repository of electronic documents, currently holds over 25,000 documents. But the Agency has thousands more documents that should be retained; most of these are not yet available in any electronic format. EPA management has not addressed the issue of how much it will cost to digitize these thousands of reports, where the money will come from, or how long it will take to complete the task. <bullet> EPA's approach did not consider how university, school, and municipal libraries will borrow paper copies of EPA's documents through the interlibrary loan process. <bullet> EPA's approach has deprived working-class people of a user-friendly, well-staffed EPA library system that could provide them with environmental and public health information. MODERNIZATION OF EPA LIBRARIES EPA management has stated that shuttering its libraries was an act of modernization. As the saying goes, ``the devil is in the details.'' If AFGE Council 238 had been tasked with modernizing EPA's libraries, we would have first consulted with the experts such as the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, and the American Association of Law Libraries. We would have acknowledged up- front that not all parts of each EPA's library collection could be digitized, since much of it is copyrighted. We would have acknowledged the abundance of specialized and unique materials to the EPA collection--including reports paid for by taxpayers, maps and other specialized formats, which would be and are very difficult and time- consuming to digitize. Ms. Leslie Burger stated on February 6, 2007, ``Before we begin the costly digitization process, we always consider the needs of the current and future user communities. Digital content must be created in a fashion assuring that it will be usable 25 and 50 years from now. We need to capture cataloging information, or what we call metadata, about the digital resource so that we can find the digital object now and in the future, or so that if we have to recreate it we know how we created it the first time.'' Second, if we were tasked with digitizing EPA library materials, we would have piloted the project; testing it out and discovering problem areas and processes, as well as procedures that would need to be followed to ensure accuracy and completeness of the digitization process. Third, we would have ensured that all materials had first been digitized and made available electronically, and only then would we have considered whether the redundancy of hard copies was necessary or in the best interest of the general public. All this and more we would have done prior to declaring ``mission accomplished,'' shuttering EPA's libraries, and tossing out documents--which in fact is what EPA did when it shuttered its libraries. Despite Administrator Johnson's testimony that ``. . .our library modernization effort has and will continue to provide more people with more access to EPA information, both online and through traditional library services,'' feedback from bargaining unit employees has indicated just the opposite. To date EPA's modernization effort has not provided more people with more access to EPA information. AFGE COUNCIL 238'S RESPONSE TO EPA'S LIBRARY CLOSURES Administrator Johnson testified on February 6, 2007, ``We also plan on continuing a strong network of physical libraries. Some will serve as repositories to hold hard copies of our collection and some will continue to provide walk-in services.'' The Agency's actions in closing EPA libraries, reducing hours at other libraries and how they went about accomplishing those changes were the reasons we wanted to sit down and negotiate with EPA management and find a solution that would be in the best interest of EPA and the employees we represent. AFGE Council 238 tried to have an impact on this issue internally by negotiating with EPA management. Senior Agency management rebuffed the Council, saying that the topic was ``premature'' to negotiate because no formal FY 2007 library plan had yet been adopted. On March 13, 2006, the EPA Region 5 Regional Administrator announced that the Region 5 Library would close ``. . .in the near future.'' Therefore, on March 16, 2006, AFGE Council 238 demanded to bargain procedures and appropriate arrangements over the closing and major reorganization of EPA's libraries. In spite of AFGE Council 238's Demand to Bargain, EPA management went ahead with its dismantling of EPA libraries unchecked, with no coherent plan in place. On August 16, 2006, AFGE Council 238 filed a grievance against the Agency for failure to negotiate with the Council over the closure of the libraries. Since the Agency made no real effort to resolve the grievance, on October 17, 2006, AFGE Council 238 invoked arbitration. On February 5, 2007, the Council filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) because the Agency refused to pick an arbitrator. On September 25, 2007, FLRA Administrative Law Judge Richard A. Pearson ruled on the ULP and ordered the Agency, among other things, ``. . .to cease and desist from . . . Failing or refusing to proceed to arbitration. . .'' and ``. . .in any like or related manner, interfering with, restraining or coercing its employees in the exercise of their rights assured by the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.'' The September 25, 2007, FLRA Order also required EPA to post at its facilities where bargaining unit employees represented by the Council are located, copies of a notice to all employees that the EPA had committed a ULP and their agreement to abide by the FSLMRS. EPA management has dragged its feet complying with FLRA's Order to post the settlement agreement nationwide. AFGE Council 238 continues to work with FLRA to resolve this matter. Coincidentally, on September 25, 2007, the arbitration was heard by Arbitrator George E. Larney. On February 15, 2008, Arbitrator Larney found that the Agency had violated applicable provisions of the Master Collective Bargaining Agreement (MCBA) when it acted to forestall and preclude engaging the Council in impact and implementation bargaining pertaining to issues attendant to the reorganization of its Library Network. The Arbitrator ruled to sustain the substance of the grievance and ordered the Agency to engage the Council in impact and implementation bargaining over issues attendant to the reorganization of the Agency's Library Network in a timely manner. Such bargaining should include all issues that directly affect and may potentially have an adverse impact on the working conditions of bargaining unit employees. Arbitrator Larney stated in his ruling last month, ``Thus, the record evidence establishes with great clarity and without contravention that from the very beginning of its initiative in FY 2003, to consider making changes to its Library Network and continuing up until midway through FY 2006 when the Agency began laying the groundwork to effect the changes that had already been determined by it to implement, Management had precluded the Union, both on a national and local level, from assuming any role in the planning and decision- making stages relative to the reorganization of its Library Network and, consideration of the possible potential impacts such a reorganization would have on its bargaining unit employees. . ..'' [p. 60 of 81, February 15, 2008, OPINION and AWARD, EPA v AFGE Council 238 (FMCS Case No. 07-50725)] Arbitrator Larney went on to state that ``. . .the record evidence reveals that the Agency stonewalled the Union with regard to permitting commencement of negotiations let alone allowing the Union a real and viable consultative role in the library reorganization process.'' [p. 61 of 81, February 15, 2008, OPINION and AWARD, EPA v AFGE Council 238 (FMCS Case No. 07-50725)] Arbitrator Larney continued by stating ``. . .As if the Agency's conduct as evidenced by the above enumerated four (4) instances was not bad enough, the fact that, in addition to precluding the Union from entering into impact and implementation bargaining pursuant to its contractual right to do so as provided for in Article 45 of the Master Collective Bargaining Agreement (Jt.Ex.1), pertaining to the reorganization of its Library Network, the Agency compounded the err of its ways by instituting changes attendant to its reorganization initiative unilaterally without the benefit of legitimate Union input. Such unilateral changes were implemented over much of the time period the Union was seeking to enter into impact and implementation bargaining with the Agency up to and including the period of time leading to this arbitral proceeding.'' [p. 66 of 81, February 15, 2008, OPINION and AWARD, EPA v AFGE Council 238 (FMCS Case No. 07-50725)]. As of this date, we have not yet been able to schedule a meeting with the Agency to discuss this ruling or Arbitrator Larney's Order. AFGE Council 238 is concerned that EPA's actions tend to limit not only EPA staffs' access to information, but also discourages the public's access to EPA libraries and information. NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL On April 14, 2003, Administrator Christine Todd Whitman signed the ``EPA Labor-Management Partnership Strategic Plan and Operational Guidance,'' which stated, among other things that: ``The overarching goal of the Partnership Council is to increase collaboration between EPA's labor unions and management thereby furthering the accomplishment of the Agency's mission through improving job satisfaction and working conditions for all employees and managers at all organizational levels and locations.'' The Strategic Plan stated that: ``Rather than having management make decisions and then negotiate with the union, the PDI process involves the union early in the decision-making process, when issues are at the formative stage. When PDI is used, the union and management work together as a team to resolve issues to their mutual satisfaction and interest.'' EPA management not only repeatedly refuses to adopt the principles of pre-decisional involvement (PDI), but also refuses to engage the unions in meaningful negotiations such as library closures, even though they are required to do so by law and contract. For at least six years, EPA management has repeatedly said that it wanted to engage Unions in PDI as part of the NPC activities. Yet as of this date, AFGE Council 238 is unaware of any PDI activities emanating from the NPC, despite numerous requests. As a result of the failure of EPA management to work with us on the library closures, as well as on a multitude of other issues, AFGE Council 238 served notice on February 28, 2008, along with our Union partners, that we were suspending any further involvement with the National Labor-Management Partnership Council with EPA management. AFGE Council 238 is particularly incensed by EPA's refusal to discuss, let alone negotiate with us on the closure of EPA's libraries. SOME OF THE LOW-LIGHTS OF EPA'S LIBRARY CLOSURES INCLUDE: <bullet> EPA's library collections were dispersed before establishing any standard procedures or criteria to ensure that important documents were not lost. <bullet> EPA did not have a complete inventory of all documents prior to the closures, nor do we believe that they have one now. Can EPA management account for the whereabouts of ALL unique library documents prior to the day of shuttering? <bullet> EPA's approach to closing its libraries has deprived working-class people of a user-friendly, EPA-staffed library system that provided them with environmental and public health information. The general public, particularly minorities in four major metropolitan areas have been impacted--Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and Washington, DC. <bullet> AFGE Council 238 finds it ironic that EPA shuttered its libraries when its congressionally mandated mission is to protect human health and the environment; a scientific and legal mission that requires ready access to the latest research and information in the many scientific and technical fields. <bullet> EPA failed to fulfill its contractual obligations under the MCBA, as well as its statutory obligations under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (5 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.), by failing to negotiate with AFGE Council 238 on these closures. CONCLUSION EPA policy-makers, managers and senior executives should depend on impartial, peer reviewed research and science to make informed decisions. A valuable resource and research tool is a first class EPA Library Network. AFGE Council 238 would like to see all EPA libraries reopened and library services fully restored by the end of fiscal year 2008. AFGE Council 238 thanks Congress for providing $1,000,000 ($983,500 after rescission) in the fiscal year 2008 budget to reopen the closed EPA libraries. However, we are concerned that the funding may be insufficient to get all of the closed libraries back to full service, and will not address the reduced service at the remaining libraries, nor the reduced periodical subscriptions. Unfortunately, much of the funding will need to be spent on construction and repurchasing library furnishings, such as shelving. For example, EPA Region 5 excessed its library furniture in 2006, selling it for about $350. That furniture was originally purchased in 1990-1991 for approximately $35,000, and to replace that furniture now in 2008 could easily approach $100,000. Most importantly, AFGE Council 238 points out that there was no funding to rehire research librarians, a critical aspect of any library, let alone a state-of-the-art environmental library. Ms. Leslie Burger appears to support this position when she stated on February 6, 2007, ``Further, there are still traditional library users out there. Not everyone does their searching via web-based search engines. Many would still rather put their trust in the hands of a knowledgeable library professional, someone who knows the materials inside and out. It has been argued that the time of librarians is vanishing with the rise of the Internet, but this is a case in point where that is just not so. The EPA's environmental holdings are vast and dense, and a simple search engine just isn't enough. With the loss of the brick-and- mortar facilities comes the loss of the most important asset in the library: the librarian. After all, what good is information if you can't find it?'' AFGE Council 238 believes that reopening EPA libraries will require aggressive oversight by Congress to ensure that the Agency successfully reopens and restores them in a timely and effective manner. We urge Congress to include explicit instructions that funding must be used to reopen shuttered EPA libraries. AFGE Council 238 is also concerned that authorizing the reopening of EPA libraries to provide public access should include providing EPA staff with ready access to the latest research and information in their respective scientific and technical fields. AFGE Council 238 offers its services to Congress to review and comment on the plan that EPA is required to submit to the Committee on Appropriations regarding actions the Agency will take to restore publicly available libraries to provide environmental information and data to each EPA region. The Agency is to submit its report to Congress within 90 days of the signing of the appropriations bill on December 26, 2007. We are also concerned about EPA's library closures since it appears to be a phenomenon not restricted only to EPA. Library closures are, in fact, happening at other federal agencies and departments. For example, the National Institute on Drug Abuse closed its library in 2007 for ``budgetary reasons.'' The Housing and Urban Development Headquarters Library was decreased in size by 60 percent; periodicals and monograph materials were reduced by over 16 percent. The General Services Administration Headquarters library closed in October 2006. We understand that at the U.S. Geological Survey, budget constraints have created concerns about the future of their library services as well. Finally, I must state that in my over 37 years as a dedicated federal civilian employee, I have never experienced such an unprecedented level of political consideration in the performance of EPA's mission. I express my sincerest concern that this political influence threatens the integrity of EPA's Principles of Scientific Integrity, and undermines the very mission of the Agency, which is to protect human health and the environment. EPA must make decisions based upon the best reasonably obtainable economic and technical information, as well as sound science that has been peer reviewed. By initiating these changes now, it would not only improve EPA staff morale, but also help accomplish EPA's mission and strengthen the faith of the American people in this world-class Agency. Thank you again for this opportunity to speak on behalf of AFGE Council 238 and the almost 9,000 EPA employees that we represent. I am happy to take any questions from the Committee. Chairman Miller. Thank you. Dr. Grifo. STATEMENT OF DR. FRANCESCA T. GRIFO, SENIOR SCIENTIST, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS; DIRECTOR, SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY PROGRAM Dr. Grifo. Good morning. My name is Francesca Grifo, and I am a Senior Scientist and Director of the Scientific Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Chairman Miller, Congressman Hall, thank you for this opportunity. In 2006, as we have heard, the EPA began to close or reduce access to parts of its network of libraries as part of a modernization plan. This process took items out of circulation before making them available electronically, and did not fully consider how to make the diversity of EPA's library holdings accessible during the transition period and beyond. We do not object to modernization per se, rather to the ongoing lack of access to critical library resources, deficiencies in stakeholder consultation, and lack of transparency in the process, and the rapid pace of library closures, in contrast to the slow rate of digitization of library holdings. The Scientific Integrity Program works to expose political interference in Federal Government science, and to ensure a federal scientific workforce able to serve the public interest. Together with several eminent scientists, we recently released a statement entitled ``Scientific Freedom and the Public Good,'' that outlines the conditions needed by federal scientists to do their jobs and serve the public good. Research support systems such as libraries are one such necessary condition for a thriving federal scientific enterprise. In order to fulfill its mission to protect human health and the environment, the EPA must rely on up to date scientific information, as well as historical materials. Despite the increasing availability of information on the Internet, world class academic and scientific institutions are maintaining and expanding their libraries, with the understanding that they are the bedrock of scholarship and scientific research. Without ease of access to information, the efficiency and accuracy of EPA's determinations are under threat. In the fall of 2006, we mobilized our network of scientists and citizen-activists to call Administrator Johnson's office and demand a halt to the closures. UCS activists made nearly 8,000 phone calls. We have continued to monitor the situation, and have met twice with EPA's Office of Environmental Information. Despite these meetings, in the 14 months since we stopped phoning Administrator Johnson, we have seen very little progress. Our main concern continues to be that the EPA libraries are a valuable and cost-effective resource for both the Agency and the public, and that nearly a year and a half after their closures, the system that currently replaces them is inadequate. We decided to go to the scientists themselves. Approximately nine months after the closure, we asked the scientists at the EPA what they thought; 555 scientists agreed or strongly agreed that the recent changes and closures in the EPA library system impaired their ability to do their jobs. When we went to the scientists from Regions 5, 6, and 7, where the libraries had closed, half the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that library closures impaired their ability to do their jobs. A number of EPA scientists also provided written comments on the closures. One scientist stated: ``The library must also be reopened. Since its closure, some journals are just no longer accessible.'' Another wrote: ``EPA program offices use a lot of scientific information. Reduced library access is crippling.'' And there are more comments in my written testimony. These results show that contrary to EPA's claims, the libraries are an important resource for EPA employees, and that desktop subscriptions, digitization, and the interlibrary loan service are an imperfect replacement. Essential resources, such as copyright reference books and older volumes of scientific journals, cannot be reproduced online. Plans for access to data and documentation that came from contractors, or form the basis for guidance or determinations, are unclear. The interlibrary loan system is slower than visiting a local library, and cannot replace librarians, browsing, or the spontaneous, informal learning that takes place in a library. Almost a year and a half later, we still do not know the current status of the digitization process, if skeletal reference collections might be restored, how many librarians have been lost and any plans for their replacement, what level of access is available for materials in repositories, such as older documents, microfilm, and documents generated by EPA contractors, if there are adequate provisions to ensure access to digitized documents for people with disabilities, the status of the OPPTS Chemical Library, and any plans to digitize those materials, and perhaps most importantly, we don't have a firm deadline for when full, efficient access to needed library resources will be restored. Large problems persist, and no specific timeline for addressing them has been put forth. The Union of Concerned Scientists urges Congress to continue its oversight of the EPA and Administrator Johnson until full access to EPA library materials is restored. Transparency of library decisions, stakeholder consultations, and protections for scientists who publicly raise concerns about the libraries are important issues, and are addressed in my written testimony. In conclusion, regardless of the timing and manner of the eventual reopening of portions of the library network, there are three immediate actions that must happen now. The first, a basic reference collection and a librarian should be restored to scientists in Regions 5, 6, and 7, EPA headquarters, and the OPPTS Chemical Library. Second, the EPA must set and meet a firm deadline for completion of the digitization of all EPA documents. And third, the EPA must set and meet a deadline for full public access to all the rest of EPA's informational holdings. We look forward to working with Congress on bipartisan legislation and other reforms, to restore scientific integrity. And I will be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Dr. Grifo follows:] Prepared Statement of Francesca T. Grifo Good morning, my name is Francesca Grifo. I am a Senior Scientist and the Director of the Scientific Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Sensenbrenner, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to share our work and concerns regarding the closures of libraries at the Environmental Protection Agency. Introduction In summer 2006, the EPA closed or reduced access to parts of its network of 27 libraries, thereby reducing the public's ability to use to a valuable source of information and making it more difficult for hundreds of EPA employees to do their jobs of protecting human health and the environment. EPA officials claim the closings are part of a modernization plan, and that all library materials will eventually be available online. Unfortunately, the process adopted by the EPA for modernizing the library system was backwards and mostly non-transparent to stakeholders concerned about the ability of the EPA to do its work. We do not object to modernization per se, rather to the woefully dysfunctional way the EPA sought to undertake it. The Scientific Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists works to expose political interference in the work of Federal Government scientists and to push for reforms that ensure the free flow of scientific information between the government and the public. We recently released a statement entitled ``Scientific Freedom and the Public Good'' that outlines the conditions needed by federal scientists to do their jobs and serve the public good. Quality research support systems, such as libraries, are a necessary condition for a thriving scientific enterprise at federal agencies. In order to fulfill its mission to protect human health and the environment, the EPA must rely on accurate, up-to-date scientific information as well as the findings of earlier studies. Scientists build their research on the findings of those who came before them. Libraries are the source of much of this intellectual wealth. To make the best scientific determinations, scientists need access to information regarding the health effects of toxic substances, records of environmental change over time, impacts on specific regions or communities and many other issues. Despite the increasing availability of information on the Internet, world-class academic institutions are maintaining and expanding their libraries with the understanding that such institutions are the bedrock of scholarship and scientific research. Without ease of access to information, the efficiency and accuracy of EPA's scientific determinations are under threat--with potentially serious consequences for public health and the environment. We have been concerned about the fate of the EPA Libraries since the closures were first announced. Once the closures began in the fall of 2006, we mobilized our network of scientists--activists who signed our scientist statement on scientific integrity--to call administrator Stephen Johnson's office and demand a halt to the closures. Over the course of several weeks UCS activists made nearly 8,000 phone calls to EPA headquarters. We believe that this outcry from the scientific community, together with attention from both the House and the Senate, the EPA employee unions, the library community and other non-profit organizations was instrumental in convincing the EPA to stop and reassess its plan for the library network. Since that initial flurry of activity, we have continued to monitor the situation and have met twice with officials in EPA's Office of Environmental Information (OEI) to voice our concerns. Despite these meetings, in the 14 months since our phone offensive, we have seen very little progress in repairing the damage already done to the library network. Our main concern continues to be that the EPA libraries are a valuable and cost-effective resource for both the agency and the public, and that the system that currently replaces them is sadly inadequate. Survey Results To assess the impact of the library closures on EPA's workforce, UCS surveyed scientists at the EPA in July of 2007. The survey results show: <bullet> 555 scientists (35.6 percent of survey respondents) agreed or strongly agreed that the ``recent changes and closures in the EPA library system have impaired my ability to do my job.'' <bullet> This opinion was especially prevalent among scientists in Regions 5, 6 and 7, which had their libraries closed. 86 scientists, or nearly half of the survey respondents, agreed, however the impact of the closures was felt across the entire EPA. A number of EPA scientists also provided written comments on the library closures. One scientist stated ``The library must also be re- opened. Since its closure, some journals are just no longer accessible.'' Another explained why libraries are necessary, saying ``EPA program offices [. . .] use a lot of scientific information. Reduced library access is crippling'' while yet another called the loss of library facilities ``ludicrous.'' Other quotes from EPA scientists include-- <bullet> ``Give us back our library.'' <bullet> ``Re-open libraries.'' <bullet> ``Restore the libraries.'' <bullet> ``Libraries with the technical support staff should be restored.'' <bullet> ``Bring back the two EPA libraries at Headquarters that were closed. Many journal articles are now available online, but these go back only about 20 years. Unfortunately, a large number of bound journals from the collection were discarded.'' <bullet> ``The . . . loss of EPA libraries are bleeding down the EPA's technical knowledge base and our ability to provide or share the skills and knowledge that are critical to overall mission success.'' <bullet> ``Proper facilities, including re-establishing EPA's network of libraries is essential to give staff sufficient access to information.'' <bullet> ``Restore . . . library and other research resources. . .'' <bullet> ``Have access to tech resources and in a timely fashion (includes library/lit search issues).'' <bullet> ``Stop slashing services that made the EPA what it was (library closings are just one of many. . .).'' <bullet> ``Give us back our library. . .'' <bullet> ``Better support for ORD, libraries (regional and others). . .'' In addition some scientists described progress: <bullet> ``BTW--while I loved the library, the new service that was set-up for requesting materials via the Internet is great, quick and responsive.'' <bullet> ``The RTP Interlibrary Loan facility has been very good in obtaining articles and pages in books as the need has arisen.'' These results show that, contrary to the EPA's claims, the libraries are an important resource for EPA employees and that the Interlibrary Loan service is an imperfect replacement, that may work for certain employees, but not for all. A Backwards Process The process by which EPA closed the libraries was backwards. The closing of the physical library should be the very last stage of a well-thought-out modernization plan, if and only if it is determined that the physical library is truly extraneous. Unfortunately, closing the EPA libraries was the first step and the driver of all subsequent decisions. UCS supports the digitization of those EPA documents that can legally be made available on the Internet, but again that process should be complete before the physical materials are discarded or placed in a repository. Thousands of EPA documents are currently stranded in digitization limbo for the indefinite future. Furthermore, digitization cannot fully replace all the resources provided by a physical library. Essential resources, such as copyrighted reference books and older volumes of scientific journals, cannot be reproduced online yet are potentially invaluable for the day- to-day work of EPA's scientists. The Interlibrary Loan system is a possible solution for some of these problems, but it is undoubtedly slower than a local library and, for commonly used materials, considerably less efficient. Nor do interlibrary loans replace browsing or the spontaneous informal learning that takes place in a library. Our survey indicates that the current system is not meeting the needs of hundreds of EPA scientists. The EPA should carry out a comprehensive, transparent assessment of the information needs of its staff to determine which locations have a need for a full-service library, which need basic reference collections and which can make do with the current system. EPA's library specialists are valuable resources in their own right and their expertise in answering research and reference questions has been shown to save the EPA millions of dollars of staff time. Any information needs assessment should consider the best way to provide access to EPA librarians to all of EPA's staff. Changes to the library system impact the wider public and the information that is available to them. The EPA libraries are used by community environmental justice groups, historians, independent researchers, and others. Any changes to the library system should be done in a fully transparent and open manner and the EPA should solicit comment from the various stakeholder groups with an interest in the library network. Finally--all of this has taken far too long. Almost a year and a half is too long to be without these critical materials. Outstanding Questions After two meetings with OEI officials, many questions remain about the future of EPA's library network: <bullet> What is the current status of the digitization process? When will all the unique documents be available? <bullet> Copyrighted material can never be part of the EPA's digital library. While an interlibrary loan system will address some of these needs, it may not efficiently address the needs of all EPA staff. EPA officials have told us skeletal reference collections might be restored in each region. Has this happened? If not, when will it happen? Will stakeholders be involved in decisions regarding the composition of these collections? <bullet> The EPA's own internal documents highlight the monetary savings derived from having trained professionals assist staff. Have librarians been lost? Will the general public be allowed access to librarians when the closed libraries reopen? In the interim? If so, how and when? <bullet> What level of access is currently available for all materials moved to the repositories, including older documents, documents on microfilm and documents generated by EPA contractors? When will full access be restored? <bullet> Have adequate provisions been taken to ensure access for people with disabilities? <bullet> What level of access will the public have to materials in the repositories? <bullet> Will the OPPTS chemical library be re-opened? Are there plans to digitize the materials from that library and make them available online? Will those materials be available through the repositories and Interlibrary loans? If so when? Solutions While we believe it is possible that senior library officials do seek to remedy the situation and address these questions, it has been seventeen months since the closures began. Large problems persist and no specific timeline for addressing them has been put forth. Congress has allocated funds to re-open some of the closed libraries, yet it remains unclear how long that process will take. The Union of Concerned Scientists urges this committee to continue its oversight of the EPA until adequate access to EPA library materials is consistently available to EPA employees and the public. Immediate Actions Regardless of the timing and manner of the eventual re-opening of portions of the library network, there are three actions that must be taken by the EPA immediately: <bullet> A basic reference collection should be restored to scientists in Regions 5, 6 and 7, EPA Headquarters and the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS). The contents of these collections should be determined by a quick assessment of the needs of scientists and research groups in those regions. This is not a replacement for a more comprehensive assessment, or for the possible re-opening of those libraries, but is instead a stop-gap measure to provide the necessary resources for EPA employees in the meantime. <bullet> The EPA must set a firm deadline for completion of the digitization of all EPA documents and meet it. <bullet> The EPA must commit to full public access to EPA's informational holdings. At a minimum this should include making materials available through OCLC and Interlibrary Loan and providing staffing and hours when members of the public may access materials in all the repositories. Transparency of Library Decisions <bullet> The EPA should open up its decision-making process regarding agency informational needs to public scrutiny. Information on plans for the library network should be available on the EPA's website and should include timelines for digitization and access to information, details on the digitization process, and the names of responsible parties. Stakeholder Consultations <bullet> The EPA should undertake a comprehensive assessment of the information needs of its workforce, including scientific and legal staff, and should design its library modernization plans with those goals in mind. <bullet> The EPA should also routinely consult with outside stakeholders, including community groups, independent and academic researchers, and the library community, to ensure that decisions regarding its library network conform to best practices and ensure continued public access to information. Whistleblower Rights <bullet> In passing reforms to the Whistleblower Protection Act that include significant protections for government scientists, the House of Representatives has sent a strong signal that scientific openness and access to information should be core agency values and that scientists who speak out deserve protection. The staff of the EPA should have the right to publicly raise their concerns about the loss of the libraries. We look forward to working with the 110Congress on bipartisan legislation and other reforms to restore scientific integrity to federal policy-making. Biography for Francesca T. Grifo Francesca T. Grifo, Ph.D., is the Senior Scientist and Director of the Scientific Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The Scientific Integrity Program works to defend government science from political interference. Dr. Grifo came to UCS in 2005 from Columbia University where she directed the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation graduate policy workshop and ran the Science Teachers Environmental Education Program. Prior to that, she was Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and a curator of the Hall of Biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Dr. Grifo edited and contributed to the books Biodiversity and Human Health and The Living Planet in Crisis; biodiversity science and policy. In addition to her scholarly work, Dr. Grifo was the manager of the International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups Program at the National Institutes of Health. She was also a senior program officer for Central and Eastern European for the Biodiversity Support Program, a consortium of the World Resources Institute, the Nature Conservancy, and the World Wildlife Fund; and an AAAS Fellow in the Office of Research at the Agency for International Development. Francesca earned her Ph.D. in botany from Cornell, and a BA in biology from Smith College. She currently holds adjunct appointments at Columbia and Georgetown. Chairman Miller. Thank you, Dr. Grifo. Mr. Rettig. STATEMENT OF MR. JAMES R. RETTIG, PRESIDENT-ELECT, AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION; UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND Mr. Rettig. Chairman Miller and Congressman Hall, thank you for inviting me today to speak on behalf of the American Library Association. My name is Jim Rettig. I am University Librarian at the University of Richmond in Virginia. I am also President-Elect of the American Library Association, the oldest and largest library association in the world, with some 66,000 members. The importance of this hearing and the gravity of the situation has caused the American Association of Law Libraries to support my testimony and the stance of the American Library Association. Overall, the key issue to determine is whether or not EPA's library plan is based on users' needs. Our sources have repeatedly told us that EPA has not reached out to the EPA library user community, the thousands of scientists, researchers, and attorneys who use these resources daily, as well as members of the public, who have benefited greatly from access to these unique collections. In light of that, I would like to address two issues. First, the vital importance of access to scientific, environmental, legal, and other government information for EPA employees, scientists, and the American public. Second, the necessity for the information specialists, the staff librarian, to ensure the most effective access to this information. Because there are fewer libraries and professional library staff, scientists and the public will have less access to this information. So, let me first address the loss of valuable environmental information. As one recently retired EPA librarian described it, the EPA libraries once functioned as a virtual national library for the environment. Because of its networking, both technical and human, an interlibrary loan and reference services, users of any EPA library had access to the collections of all other sites. This cost-effective structure provides wide access for staff and public. Now that some of these regional libraries and the Chemical Library here in Washington, D.C. are closed, key links have been removed from the chain, weakening the whole. All EPA library users suffer, not just those near closed facilities. Further, the library community is deeply troubled by the dispersing of materials from the closed libraries. What this dispersement entails is not clear. We are concerned about how the dispersed information has been handled, causing long-term damage to EPA's effectiveness and the ability of the American people to find important environmental and government information. Preservation of digital assets is also very important. Without more detailed information about the EPA's digitization project, we cannot assess whether it is digitizing the most appropriate materials, whether there is appropriate metadata and cataloging to make sure that people can access the digital materials, or whether the technology that will be used to host the digital contents meets today's standards. While EPA has met with ALA staff on several occasions to discuss this issue, it has consistently failed to act upon the advice that came as a result of these meetings. This experience with EPA underscores the need for the executive branch to develop and implement effective and consistent approaches for how government agencies undertake digitization of government records and publications, and how they provide access to these. The process of library improvements and/or closures, which directly impacts access to these government materials, must be coherent and user-focused, with proper planning and oversight of the process. Our second concern is what this means for EPA's information specialists, its librarians. ALA understands that in the 21st Century, people can access much of what they need from their own desks. We also understand how complicated and costly the move to digitization can be. But the bottom line is that libraries still need skilled professionals to assist users, to organize Internet access, to determine the best way to make information available to those users, and to assure that digitization projects adhere to standards. Furthermore, traditional library users who are not comfortable with web-based search engines put their trust in a knowledgeable library professional. The EPA's environmental collections are vast and deep, and a search engine just isn't enough. With the loss of the brick and mortar facilities comes the loss of the most important asset in the library, the librarian. After all, what good is information if you can't find it? The future clearly calls for a hybrid, where not every single item or service is online, nor is everything confined to a physical structure. The hybrid's backbone is the profession of skilled, knowledgeable, and helpful information specialists, librarians. In closing, ALA asks this committee to request EPA to discuss with stakeholders how best to meet user needs and plan for the future, base its actions upon these users' needs, stabilize an inventory of the collections that have been put in storage, develop and implement a government-wide process to assist agencies to design effective digitization programs, and reestablish the standard that Federal Government librarians manage Federal Government libraries. We appreciate your responsiveness, and look forward to determining how we can save these collections, assure library service for users, and maximize access to important environmental information for staff, scientists, and the public at large. Thank you again for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the American Library Association. I will be happy to take questions from the Committee. [The prepared statement of Mr. Rettig follows:] Prepared Statement of James R. Rettig Chairman Miller, Congressman Sensenbrenner, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me today to speak on behalf of the American Library Association (ALA). I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to comment on the closure of libraries in the EPA network. My name is Jim Rettig, and I am the University Librarian of the University of Richmond (VA). I am also the President-elect of the American Library Association, the oldest and largest library association in the world with some 66,000 members, primarily school, public, academic, and some special librarians, but also trustees, publishers, and friends of libraries. The Association provides leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all. The importance of this hearing and the gravity of the situation has caused the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) to support my testimony and the stance of the American Library Association. AALL is a nonprofit educational organization with over 5,000 members nationwide who respond to the legal information needs of legislators, judges, and other public officials at all levels of government, corporations and small businesses, law professors and students, attorneys, and members of the general public. Given the library community's mission, it should come as no surprise that ALA has been so outspoken in its criticism of these closures. Overall, from the library standpoint, the key issue to determine is whether or not the EPA's library plan is based on the end-users' needs. We think not. Our sources have repeatedly told us that there has been no outreach to the EPA Library user community--comprised of the thousands of scientists, researchers, and attorneys who use these resources on a daily basis, as well as members of the public who have benefited greatly from access to these unique collections. Indeed, there has been a lot of talk about getting information to a ``broader audience,'' which EPA has repeatedly claimed is its primary goal, but how do the steps being taken by EPA accomplish that? ALA doesn't see how what's being done is connected to users' needs. In light of that, I would like to address two issues: <bullet> First, the vital importance of access to scientific, environmental, legal, and other government information for EPA employees, scientists and the American public. In the course of shutting down these libraries, has valuable, unique environmental information been lost or discarded? <bullet> Second, the necessity of the information specialist-- the staff librarian--to ensure the most effective access to this information. Because there are fewer libraries and professional library staff, scientists and the public will have limited access to this information. In an age of heightened public awareness about the environment, it seems ironic that the Administration would choose this time to limit access to years of research about the environment. So let me first address the loss of valuable environmental information. Libraries and other cultural heritage institutions (archives, museums, and historical societies) have been digitizing collections for nearly 20 years. The digital resources provide access 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, regardless of where a user lives or works. Geographic and political boundaries disappear. These digital resources meet international and national standards and are created by librarians, archivists, museum professionals, and representatives from the photographic and audio industry, public broadcasting, and computer industry. As one recently retired EPA librarian described it, the EPA libraries have been functioning like a virtual National Library on the Environment. (Indeed, the EPA was at one time a leader in providing public access to critical information in their collections.) This ``virtual'' EPA library network functioned as a single national system. Because of its networking (both technical and human) and interlibrary loan and mutual reference services, users in any EPA library had access to the collections at all other sites. This structure is cost-effective and provides wide access for staff and for the public. Now that some of these regional libraries and the pesticide library are closed, key links have been removed from the chain, thus weakening the whole system. All EPA library users suffer, not just those closest to the closed facilities. Where will people look for information about their drinking water? Or which pesticides are safe? Or how much pollution is in the air of their hometown? These issues are of the utmost importance; our health and safety depend on them! In a plan that was best described as ``convoluted and complicated,'' materials from closed EPA libraries have been boxed and sent to other locations where they are slowly being re-cataloged and then sent back to the Headquarters Library here in Washington, DC--a library that is now closed and that has no room to house these resources. Other materials have been sent to Research Triangle Park or the National Environmental Publications Internet Site (NEPIS) in Cincinnati where they are slowly being digitized. Before libraries begin a costly digitization project, we always consider the needs of the current and future user communities. Digital content must be created in a fashion assuring that it will be usable 25 and 50 years from now. We need to capture cataloging information--which we call metadata--about each digital resource so that we can find these resources now and in the future. Furthermore if we have to recreate a resource the metadata tells us how we created it the first time, giving us information such as what camera or which scanner we used to create a digital image. All that information goes into the metadata, along with the title, descriptive keywords, and publication data. Further, the library community is deeply troubled by the ``dispersing'' of materials from the closed regional libraries and the pesticide library here in Washington, DC. What this ``dispersement'' entails isn't clear at this point. We are concerned about how this information has been handled, causing long-term damage to the EPA's effectiveness and the ability of the American public to find important environmental and government information. Unfortunately, there continues to be a lot that we don't know: exactly what materials have been being shipped around the country, whether there are duplicate materials in other EPA libraries, whether these items have been or will be digitized, and whether a record is being kept of what is being dispersed and what is being discarded. We remain concerned that years of research and studies about the environment may be lost forever. Will digital documents be listed in the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), an international database of the holdings of more than 41,555 libraries in 112 countries, making them available to other research institutions? Is there metadata or cataloguing being created to ensure that digital documents can be easily located on the web? What will happen to the OCLC holdings information of the closed libraries? EPA representatives have discussed the creation of a premier digital library for the 21st century and making content from the EPA libraries available to the general public as well as to EPA scientists. To do that, the EPA will need what libraries call a web-enabled Digital Asset Management system, which cannot only display the full range of digital resources that are being converted but also the digital resources of the future: audio, video, simulations, etc. Digital Asset Management systems, or DAMs, provide the public with tools to locate and display digital resources, but these systems can also allow the EPA to provide access to authorized users. For example, if there is a publication that contractually can only be viewed by the EPA scientists, the EPA could digitize it, put it in the database, make the metadata searchable, but allow it to be viewed only by those authorized to view it. The DAM controls all of that through its authentication system. Preservation of digital assets is also very important. There are already many stories of digitized collections that have been saved on CDs, and when organizations have tried to access them the content is not viewable. CDs and DVDs are fine transport media, but no longer are they considered acceptable media for preservation. Networked storage combined with retention of two or three physical copies in different repositories is best preservation practice. Without more detailed information about the EPA's digitization project, we cannot assess whether it is digitizing the most appropriate materials, whether there is appropriate metadata or cataloging to make sure that people can access the digitized materials, and that the technology that will be used to host the digital content and the finding software meets today's standards. In the age of digital media it has become easier and easier for information to simply get lost in the shuffle, and there is no way of knowing if that's the case here. Certainly, not all parts of each EPA library collection can be digitized; they probably have some materials that are copyrighted, for example. But there is so much specialized and unique material-- including reports already paid for by taxpayers--and we do not know if these are part of the digitization projects. Further, we do not know about how their maps or other specialized formats have faired, formats that are very difficult and time-consuming to digitize. In their haste to close down libraries and meet a fiscal deadline without a clear plan, EPA has created arbitrarily established deadlines. We continue to hear allegations from former and current EPA staff, who do not wish to be identified, that hundreds of valuable journals and books may have been destroyed. These staff members are concerned that materials which are unique to EPA (and in some cases exist nowhere else in the world) are no longer available. EPA has also claimed in the past to have been following ALA guidelines in its reorganization of holdings. In fact, as far as we can tell, that meant visiting the ALA website and using our very general guidelines about ``weeding'' library collections. Weeding is the process of periodically removing materials from a library's collection. Materials are weeded because they are out of date, in poor condition or are unneeded multiple copies. ALA's weeding standards were never intended for application in a digital environment. While EPA has met with ALA staff on several occasions to discuss this issue, it has consistently failed to act upon the advice that came as a result of these meetings. This experience with EPA underscores the need for the Executive Branch to develop and implement effective and consistent approaches for how government agencies undertake digitization of government records and publications and how they provide access to them. The process of library improvements and/or closures--which directly impacts access to these government materials--needs to be coherent and user-focused, and there must be proper planning and oversight of the process. The government is the largest single producer of information, and the information it produces is vital to public health and safety. As a consequence, it is critically important that instead of a growing patchwork of agency programs emerging--which may fail to satisfy user information needs--that we put in place, effective and efficient public access programs to reap the benefits of the digital environment. Our second concern is what this means for the EPA's information specialists, its librarians. ALA understands that we are living in the 21st century, and users can access much of what they need from their own desks. In the digital environment the librarian's role is changing. We also understand how complicated and costly the move to digitization can be. But the bottom line is that libraries still need skilled professionals to a) assist users, b) organize Internet access, c) determine the best way to make the information available to those users, and d) assure that digitization projects adhere to standards. When searching the EPA site, one retrieves thousands of hits for a topic such as ``water.'' When qualifying the search by a date range the results include items outside that date range. The user will understandably wonder about the veracity of the data and will need the assistance of a librarian. Librarians are also needed to design the interfaces. The web makes it possible to design customized interfaces--one for scientists, one for teachers and students, and one for the general public. Further, there are still traditional library users out there. Not everyone does their searching via web-based search engines. Many would still rather put their trust in the hands of a knowledgeable library professional, someone who knows the materials inside and out. It has been argued that the time of librarians is vanishing with the rise of the Internet, but this is a case in point where that is just not so. The EPA's environmental collections are vast and deep, and a simple search engine just isn't enough. With the loss of the brick-and-mortar facilities comes the loss of the most important asset in the library: the librarian. After all, what good is information if you can't find it? The future clearly calls for a hybrid, where not every single item or service is online, nor is everything confined to a physical structure. And the backbone of it all is a profession of skilled, knowledgeable, and, most importantly, helpful information specialists: librarians. In closing: ALA asks that this committee request EPA to: a) Discuss with stakeholders on how best to meet user needs and plan for the future; b) Base its actions upon these users' needs; c) Stabilize and inventory the collections that have been put in storage; d) Develop and implement a government-wide process to assist agencies to design effective digitization programs; and e) Reestablish the standard that Federal Government librarians manage Federal Government libraries. We appreciate your responsiveness and look forward to determining how we can save these collections, stabilize the library services for users and understand how best to maximize access for staff, scientists, and the public at large to important environmental information. Thank you again for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the American Library Association, and I am happy to take any questions from the Committee. Biography for James R. Rettig James Rettig currently serves as university librarian at the University of Richmond in Virginia. During 2007-2008 he is serving as President-elect of the American Library Association, the world's oldest and largest library association. He has held numerous leadership position in the American Library Association, including a term on its Executive Board 2003-2006. Since 1976 he has held reference librarian and library administrative positions at Murray State University (KY), the University of Dayton (OH), the University of Illinois at Chicago, the College of William and Mary (VA), and the University of Richmond. He has published and lectured widely on issues in library reference service and has received awards for his work in that field. He is listed in Who's Who in America, 2008, 62nd ed. He is married, the father of three adult children, and is a resident of Williamsburg, Virginia (Virginia 1st Congressional District). Chairman Miller. Thank you, Mr. Rettig. I understand the reason that we are being summoned to the Floor is not a vote, but at 10:30, there will be a moment of silence for the American servicemen and women who have died in Iraq, so obviously, all of us, Mr. Hall and Ms. Johnson and I would want to be there for that. So, Ms. O'Neill, I think we can get your testimony in, and still have time to get to the Floor. Ms. O'Neill. STATEMENT OF MS. MOLLY A. O'NEILL, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION, THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION (OEI); CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER (CIO), U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Ms. O'Neill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the progress EPA is making on strengthening its national library network, and ensuring that the information our employees and the American public need to make sound decisions about the environment is made available to them. Let me begin by saying that I am fully committed to enhancing the EPA national library network and providing the broadest possible access to environmental information for EPA staff and the public. As EPA's CIO, I am very much aware of the opportunities that technology offers us to make more environmental information accessible to an ever growing number of users, both EPA staff and the public, regardless of their location. However, I also understand that some users need access in more traditional formats, and that our professional librarians play a valuable role in assisting our library users. The network is comprised of 26 libraries, and provides multiple methods for delivering information services: walk-in access to collections and assistance, online resources, and interlibrary loans. To ensure that the network was evolving and keeping pace with the newer demands from a growing, diverse customer base, EPA began reexamining its library model in 2003, to identify new ways to deliver library service and meet customer needs in a cost-effective manner. While EPA implemented changes in the walk-in services in some locations in 2006, we continued to provide a full range of library services to EPA staff and the public. EPA appreciates the thorough review the Government Accountability Office recently conducted of the EPA library network operations. We recognize the importance of transparency in our library planning processes, and we worked hard to cooperate and assist the GAO during this review. The Agency has already taken many steps to address the recommendations made in the GAO review. We placed a 90 day moratorium on any changes at our libraries in mid-December 2006, in response to concern raised by a number of our stakeholders. In late February 2007, this moratorium was extended indefinitely in an effort to work more closely with various concerned groups. Since then, EPA has taken many steps to improve governance and coordinate across EPA on enhancing these services. In early 2007, the EPA issued an interim national library network policy, assigning the overall responsibility of the library network to me, the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Environmental Information. The policy established uniform governance and management for the network, applicable to all headquarters and regional offices that provide library services. To implement the policy, a number of network-level procedures and standards are being developed that will ensure commonality in the way libraries operate across the network. At the same time the policy was issued, EPA hired a highly qualified professional librarian, with many years of experience, as the Network National Program Manager. The new Program Manager coordinates all network activities, and provides strategic direction on planning, operations, and outreach efforts. EPA also increased outreach to outside parties on our library operations and plans. We participated in a number of meetings and conferences with professional associations such as ALA, the Special Libraries Association, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The Agency has stepped up coordination with other federal agencies on library operations. My staff is working closely with the Federal Library and Information Center Committee, FLICC, at the Library of Congress, on our plans for the future of the network. FLICC has selected a Board of Advisors, composed of federal library managers, to work directly with the network to advise us on procedures, operations, and future directions. I want to assure the Subcommittee that as EPA implemented improvements to the network, we continued to provide library services to our customers. Customers continue to have access to documents, either in person or via interlibrary loans. They received help in answering reference and research questions, and the Agency continues to enhance our offerings available from our digital libraries. EPA employees now have electronic access to more than 120,000 resources from their desktops. Also, we established agreements between several of our libraries and the Centers of Excellence within the network to allow us to leverage the expertise available from other locations. Users of the services offered via these agreements report high satisfaction with the quality and timeliness of these services. Moving forward, EPA continues to develop a long range plan for a strong and effective library network, and we continue to solicit input from both internal and external customers. In recognition of our goal to provide the service our customers need, we will be conducting a formal needs assessment to inform future planning of the network. Of particular importance is assuring EPA staff have access to the information they need to do their jobs, and EPA is committed to working collaboratively with EPA staff and union representatives on future changes to the library network that may impact employees. As part of the planning efforts, EPA is currently working on a report to Congress pertaining to EPA's libraries requested in the report language on the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008. The report language directs the EPA to restore the network of EPA libraries recently closed or consolidated, and submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations regarding the actions it will take to restore publicly available libraries to provide environmental information and data to each EPA region within 90 days of the enactment. EPA's report will describe the Agency's plans to ensure on- site support in each EPA region, the EPA Headquarters Library, and the Office of Pollution and Pesticides and Toxic Substances, our Chemical Library. Finally, EPA is committed to examining ways to provide even greater access to environmental information to meet customers' needs. I believe that all of the Agency's information access services, be they through EPA libraries, the EPA website, or other Agency mechanisms, are components of a broader canvas that supports our commitment to provide access to environmental information. On behalf of Administrator Johnson, thank you for inviting me to speak with you today about our EPA national library network and our ongoing efforts to strengthen it to make it a premier environmental library network. I am happy to address any questions that the Committee might have. [The prepared statement of Ms. O'Neill follows:] Prepared Statement of Molly A. O'Neill Good morning, Mr. Chairman and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the progress EPA is making in strengthening its National Library Network and ensuring that the information our employees and the American public need to make sound decisions about their environment is available to them. This testimony reflects my dual roles as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and as the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Environmental Information (OEI), where the National Library Network is now one of the programs I oversee. Introduction Let me begin by saying that I am fully committed to enhancing the EPA National Library Network (Network) and providing the broadest possible access to environmental information for EPA staff and the public As EPA's CIO, I am very much aware of the opportunities that technology offers us to make more environmental information accessible to an ever growing number of users, both EPA staff and the public, regardless of their location. However, I also understand that some users need access in more traditional formats and that our professional librarians play a valuable role in assisting our library users. Our vision is to be the premier model for the next generation of federal libraries by enhancing our electronic tools to complement our traditional library services. The Network is comprised of twenty-six libraries, and provides multiple methods for delivering information services--walk-in access to collections and assistance, on-line resources, and interlibrary loans. To ensure that the Network was evolving and keeping pace with newer demands from a growing, diverse customer base, EPA began reexamining its library model in 2003 to identify new ways to deliver library services and meet customer needs in a cost-effective manner. While EPA implemented changes in walk-in services in some locations in 2006, we continued to provide the full range of library services to EPA staff and the public. EPA appreciates the thorough review the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted of the EPA Library Network operations. EPA recognizes the importance of transparency in our library planning processes and worked hard to cooperate and assist GAO during its review. The Agency has already taken many steps that address the recommendations made in GAO's review. Enhancing EPA's Library Network We placed a 90-day moratorium on any changes at our libraries in mid-December 2006 in response to concerns raised by a number of stakeholders. In late February 2007, this moratorium was extended indefinitely in an effort to work more closely with various concerned groups. Since then, EPA has taken many steps to improve governance and coordination across EPA on enhancing library services. In early 2007, EPA issued an interim National Library Network Policy assigning the overall responsibility for the Library Network to the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Environmental Information. The policy established uniform governance and management for the Network, applicable to all headquarters and regional offices that provide library services. To implement the policy, a number of Network- level procedures and standards are being developed that will ensure commonality in the way libraries operate across the Network. At the same time the policy was issued EPA hired a highly qualified professional librarian with many years of experience as the Network national program manager. The new program manager coordinates all Network activities, and provides strategic direction in all planning, operations, and outreach efforts. These actions have been instrumental in strengthening our network of librarians. EPA also increased outreach to outside parties on our library operations and plans. We participated in a number of meetings and conferences with professional associations such as the American Library Association, the Special Libraries Association, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Whether as speakers at national meetings, exhibitors during the meetings, or in open conversation with association staff or members, we have requested input on Network operations, service delivery and future plans for the Network. We have also provided additional information online for the general public about our library operations and future plans. The Agency has also stepped up coordination with other federal agencies on library operations. My staff is working closely with the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) at the Library of Congress on our plans for the future of the Network. FLICC has selected a board of advisors composed of federal library managers to work directly with the Network to advise us on procedures, operations, and future directions. I want to assure the Subcommittee that as EPA implemented improvements to the Network, we continued to provide library services to our customers. Customers continued to have access to documents, either in person or via interlibrary loans. They received help in answering reference and research questions, and the Agency continues to enhance our offerings available from our digital libraries. EPA employees now have electronic access to more than 120,000 resources from their desktops. Also, we established agreements between several of our libraries and Centers of Excellence within the Network to allow us to leverage the expertise available from other locations. Users of the services offered via these agreements report high satisfaction with the quality and timeliness of these services. For example, a 2007 survey of federal customers who requested literature searches rated EPA high in the relevance, timeliness and completeness of results. Moving Forward EPA continues to develop a long range plan for a strong and effective Library Network, and will continue to solicit input from both internal and external customers. In recognition of our goal to provide the service our customers need we will be conducting a formal needs assessment to inform future planning for the Network. Of particular importance is ensuring EPA staff has access to the information they need to do their jobs, and EPA is committed to working collaboratively with EPA staff and union representatives on future changes to the EPA Library Network that may impact employees. As part of the planning efforts, EPA is currently working on a Report to Congress pertaining to EPA libraries requested in the report language on the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008. The report language directs EPA ``to restore the Network of EPA libraries recently closed or consolidated. . .'' and ``to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations regarding actions it will take to restore publicly available libraries to provide environmental information and data to each EPA region within 90 days of enactment of this Act.'' EPA's report will describe the Agency's plans to ensure on-site support in each EPA Region, the EPA Headquarters Library, and the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) Chemical Library. Finally, EPA is committed to examining ways to provide even greater access to environmental information to meet customers' needs. I believe that all of the Agency's information access services, be they through EPA libraries, the EPA Website, or other Agency mechanisms, are components of a broader canvas that supports our commitment to provide access to environmental information. To solicit input on how EPA might enhance access to information, the Agency is conducting a National Dialogue with key stakeholders over the next several months. Based on this input, EPA plans to develop a long term Strategy for enhancing access to environmental information, including library services. Conclusion On behalf of Administrator Johnson, thank you for inviting me to speak with you today about the EPA National Library Network and our ongoing work to strengthen it and make it the premier environmental library network in the country. I would be happy to address any questions that you may have at this time. Chairman Miller. Thank you, and our questioning will take place after we return from the Floor, so we are at ease. [Recess.] Discussion Access to EPA Library Services Chairman Miller. Well, the moment of silence was a little more optional than I had thought. There was not every Member present, but I am glad that I was able to go and join in it, and I apologize for the disruption. Mr. Hall, in what I assume was sincere compliments of my renown as a lawyer, I am reminded that judges, in North Carolina at least, tell juries that they should judge the evidence not by its quantity, but by its quality and convincing force, but Ms. O'Neill, I still cannot help but notice that you are badly outnumbered, that every--all of the other witnesses tell a very different tale. Their testimony was very different from yours. In your testimony, you discussed the future network services that would bring EPA materials to EPA employees and to the public, including the scientists who rely upon the EPA libraries, but your testimony is relatively silent, or soft- spoken, on what is available today, other than to say broadly that EPA continues to make, and to provide the full range of library services to EPA staff and the public. And that certainly sounds like there has been no change in the access that the EPA staff has or the public has to EPA's library materials. Is that your testimony? Ms. O'Neill. Well, let me clarify, that is my testimony, but let me clarify. I think the services are there. They may be different, in terms of the libraries where we have closed the walk-in service, where there was obviously a physical librarian there. And that service is still there, in terms of being able to have reference checks and research and obtaining information, they just go through a different mechanism. So, where we don't have the physical presence of the library, the EPA staff have a number and a website to go to, to actually get some services for help, and we have Centers of Excellence where we have librarians there helping them find information that they need. Availability of Library Materials Chairman Miller. And is it your testimony that all the same materials are available that were available before? Ms. O'Neill. I can't testify that all the materials, all documents and materials are there that they were there before, but the key, unique documents are available to them. The other thing is that we have arrangements with other libraries, so if they were general documents that we have, in our libraries, we had a lot of general documents, whether they be magazines or something that can go to a public library, but we have tried to ensure that they have as much as, there as we possibly can, based on the need. Chairman Miller. There has been considerable testimony, and I think part of the GAO's findings, that some materials were just thrown away. Did you keep a catalog of what was thrown away? Ms. O'Neill. It is not, to my knowledge, nothing was thrown away. There were some things that were outdated, that they went through, we had guidelines for each, excuse me, for each of the regional office to have, in terms of as they went through the materials in their portfolio of things, if this is a document that is unique, it needs to be tagged for digitization, and we also need to make sure it goes, and to see if we have a copy in our central repository. Where there were journals, where we had other copies in other locations, they were tagged for recycling. I don't know of anything that was actually--or we were, we offered those materials up to other libraries first. So, there was a whole process that went through this, in terms of what to do with the materials that were either duplicative in nature, or that no one wanted, or they weren't unique to EPA. Chairman Miller. Okay. Mr. Orzehoskie, I---- Mr. Orzehoskie. Yes, sir. Chairman Miller. Apologize for difficulty---- Mr. Orzehoskie. Everyone in my life has had difficulty with my name. Chairman Miller. Well, that is reassuring. I grew up in the South, there was not a lot of ethnic diversity. Everyone kind of came from Northern Europe or from Africa, but had European names, and had done that a long time ago. And so, I am less familiar than some Members in dealing with ethnic names or not Northern European and Western European names. If I don't act as country, it is---- Mr. Orzehoskie. You did very well. Chairman Miller.--it is because until recently, I have lived exclusively in North Carolina, and have not had to act Southern, because I simply was Southern. So, I don't have quite the practice in acting Southern. Mr. Orzehoskie. Well, my son lives in Louisiana, so I do, I know what you are talking about. More on Access to EPA Library Services Chairman Miller. You have said that the access to EPA services--or do you agree that access to services and resources have not really changed since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2007? Mr. Orzehoskie. Well, I think at Region 5, they have changed dramatically. Now, I can't--you know, I don't use the library in my current position much as a Union person. I have talked to some Union members that have had difficulty accessing some information, but the library itself is totally gone. I mean, the area where the library was is an empty room. Even the bookshelves and the materials are gone, and there is no reference librarian in Region 5 that I know of. Chairman Miller. All right. Mr. Orzehoskie. We were told that we could get some information from Cincinnati if we wanted to, but now, I hear we can go down to the street to our public library and get it, but I don't know how many people will be walking in and out of our offices and going down to the public library on a regular basis. Chairman Miller. You could, however, pick up John Grisham's latest there. Mr. Orzehoskie. Yes. When Did EPA Develop Library Commonality Procedures and Outreach? Chairman Miller. Ms. O'Neill, you have just, in your printed testimony, I think, in the answer to the previous question, you said that EPA was developing network standard procedures to ensure commonality, you were hiring highly qualified professional librarians to coordinate the network, that you had increased outreach to outside parties, and you were conducting a formal needs assessment to plan for your future service. Did you do all of that before implementing the closures, or is that something you are doing now? Ms. O'Neill. We haven't started the formal needs assessment. That is something that we plan on doing very, in the short, in the near future. It has come out of our working with our Union, excuse me, with our library network. This is something that our librarians have mentioned that we need to do collectively, and we are committed to doing that. So, we have been trying to engage in discussions with our librarians throughout the country, and what, really where we need to go, and that is one of the suggestions that came out. That is why I was really glad to hear it in the testimony from two other testimonies here, because that is on our queue to do. In terms of reaching out, I can only speak to say that we did do some outreach, but we have done a lot more in the last year. I can tell you that. Chairman Miller. So, the sense I get from all the other witnesses is that, as you have just said, it really began after EPA had already implemented the closures and the cutbacks. Would it not have made sense, a great deal more sense, to do that before implementing the budget reductions and the closings, rather than after? Ms. O'Neill. Well, let me just be real clear here, just for the record. I must say that I started at EPA in January of 2007, so what I speak about is what I have been told, and what I have read about. There was outreach before the closures of the libraries, but I can't tell you, but since January, there has been additional outreach from the libraries, so I think it has been documented that we didn't do any, and I don't think that that is true. I think that we did do some outreach to different communities, in terms of getting some ideas. A lot of the--was mentioned earlier about some of the--we started looking at this, I think, back in 2003, and as part of that, we did look at other procedures that were out there, from different associations, and we did talk to some of these associations during, over the course of those years as well. Chairman Miller. I assume that all of the other witnesses would have been the outreachees? Mr. Orzehoskie. Well, you know, I know they have never reached out to the Union, and I think my testimony reflects that, and that we have had to file grievances, and you know, Unfair Labor Practices, just to get where we are, and even after getting an Arbitrator to agree to an issue in negotiating with us, they still haven't. Chairman Miller. Okay. Mr. Stephenson. Mr. Stephenson. Think about what was just said by EPA. They are in the process of thinking about doing a needs assessment to determine what their users need right now. Why wouldn't you do that first? That is what their own 2003/2004 study recommended. How can you assess your inventories of materials and decide what you need and don't need, and throw anything away or not before you do that? And Ms. O'Neill doesn't know whether they threw out any materials. We don't know whether they threw out any materials, because they haven't inventoried their materials to determine what best to do with them. The whole thing is kind of backwards. We are closing libraries first, as I said, and now, we are beginning to do the analysis that should have been done in the first place. Chairman Miller. The GAO is generally noted for very temperate, qualified, cautious reports. Mr. Stephenson. Fact-based. Chairman Miller. Fact-based. I think if Harry Truman wanted to find a one-handed economist, he probably would have certainly wanted to find a one-handed GAO employee, but you seem to be one-handed on this. Dr. Grifo, what has been your experience in outreach? I assume that the Union of Concerned Scientists or your members would have been one of the important clients, and what contact did you receive, and what are you receiving now? Dr. Grifo. We actually didn't receive any, prior to our initiation of contact. I mean, it was only after we generated the phone calls, and they essentially, you know, called us and begged us to stop, to make the phone calls stop so they could use that phone line, that we actually met with them, and began our dialogue. There was nothing ahead of time. Chairman Miller. Okay. Mr. Rettig. Mr. Rettig. The closings brought this to ALA and ALA members' attention, and we have been concerned ever since, and remain concerned. There are many resources for planning digitization projects right here within the Federal Government. The National Science Foundation Institute for Museum and Library Services, the National Endowments Humanities have made grants of millions and millions of dollars over the years to develop the standards for digitization and digital libraries. Chairman Miller. And my time has expired. Mr. Hall is recognized for five minutes. EPA Actions Since the Senate Hearings Mr. Hall. Well, I don't--I am not sure I have any questions. I have been gone, and I don't know what has been asked. I hate to be repetitious, but I do know the importance of libraries, and I know that that there is some problem here, and I am not sure what the problem is, but I think this is a good place to work it out, and hammer it out, and find out what has happened, and what ought to happen, and how you can make that happen. And I presume that is the Chairman's intent, is to get to the bottom of it, not to set blame or punish anyone, but to, how to improve it, and make something work. Libraries, the Southern Association, when they go to university, they are the accrediting entity of state colleges and universities, when they go anywhere to any university to talk about granting them a doctoral program, the very first place they go is to the library, and that is how important it is, and that is how very important probably this hearing is, so I guess the only way I can be helpful, and there is no one here to be helpful but me on this side of the docket, so I am about the best we got going right now. If libraries have changed over the last 10 or 15 years, that may ought to be some input. If attendance to their use has dropped in recent years, maybe that ought to be talked about. If there is any efforts to engage or not to engage internal APA constituency like scientists unions or external users, I would, maybe that is important, and maybe this Chairman has gone into all that while I was not here, but I might ask to Ms. O'Neill, what has EPA done since last year's hearing with the Senate to take steps to rectify whatever the problems are, whether you agree they exist or not? Ms. O'Neill. Since I think the hearing in SEPW was February of 2007, I was there, I believe, and I can't remember if it was before or after that we put the--it was right around the same time, we put the--there had been a 90-day moratorium put out in December for making any changes to the library. That includes through any more recycling or taking collections away and things like that, going through the criteria to do that. Given where we were, and a lot of the concerns that were out there, and quite frankly, because we also want to make sure that we are doing things in a way that makes sense, and in a direction that is the correct direction, in around February, I don't know the exact date, we put another moratorium out indefinitely, and that has not lifted, so there haven't been any changes since then. So, we haven't had any changes, in terms of reducing hours, or closing any libraries since late 2006. The only thing that we asked them to do is just continue to look at those unique documents, so that when we do do digitization, that we will be ready to do that for those--in libraries that hadn't closed. We had already gone through that for the library closed. Mr. Hall. Is that for those that the Chairman laid out in his opening statement? Have you addressed those concerns while I have been gone? EPA Report to Congress Ms. O'Neill. In my testimony, I think I tried to tell what we were trying--what we were doing. Right now, we are in the process of finalizing a report to Congress that will put together the plan for how we are going to reestablish the physical libraries in the regions that have closed, as well as in our headquarters and Chemical Libraries that closed, so we are working very closely with the regions and headquarters to make sure we do that, in a way that makes a lot of good sense. And based on what we have learned over the last year, as well, and beyond that, we want to make sure that plan addresses the libraries that maybe reduced their hours and made some changes last year that maybe didn't close, but that we established some minimum standards for our entire network. Mr. Hall. And have you shared that plan with those that are testifying here? Ms. O'Neill. Not yet. The plan is not due until the end of March. So, it is coming, and we are on schedule to deliver that. Mr. Hall. Mr. Chairman, I guess I would ask unanimous consent for Mr. Sensenbrenner to send whatever questions. He will read the testimony, and then, he will have some questions. I don't really have any further questions for the witness, and I thank you very much. Chairman Miller. Without objection, Mr. Sensenbrenner's questions will be submitted to all of you to answer. After--I do disagree with my distinguished colleague about the purpose of oversight hearings. Sometimes, it is to place blame. That is one of the things oversight does, is look at what has happened, and when what happened shouldn't have happened, yes, place blame, criticize harshly what has happened. If there is no consequence to bad conduct, it will happen again and again. I know there are some time, Mark McGwire leaps to mind, who say let us not dwell on the past. Let us look to the future. But if we don't look to the past and place blame, if blame is merited, then it will happen again, without consequence. I understand that the report will be due at the end of March, and you all will be given some opportunity to respond before it is produced. It sounds like you are not going to have very long to respond. How long would you expect, Ms. O'Neill, how much time will the various interested parties, the stakeholders, to use the jargon, have to review the document before it is final? I believe you just said that it would be, it was due at the end of March, that is this month, and they hadn't received it yet. Would they be given an opportunity to comment before it was released? Is that right? Ms. O'Neill. I would have to check and see what the entire schedule is, but this is---- Chairman Miller. I am sorry, what did you say? Ms. O'Neill. I am sorry. I would have to check to see what the schedules, in terms of where we are in our internal review right now, which is where we are right now. We were planning, I know, briefing the Union on this. We were waiting for the arbitration hearing to see how things were done, and to also, what we needed to do, in terms of getting this out. But I have to tell you, I mean, internally, we have been spending a lot of time trying, within our own organization, trying to figure out what we can do, in terms of each of these regional areas. They are all different, and as many of you mentioned here, Region 5, we have the libraries physically gone. In Region 7 and 6, we have--so, we have to establish a brand new library, and some of the other regions, we have to--we have different concerns, and we have been spending a lot of time with--in the places that we have closed, to figure out what we can do. Chairman Miller. And the report is, the report to Congress is due at the end of this month, and if you are not talking to the employees of the EPA, if you are not talking to scientists who are the clients of the libraries, if you are not talking to the librarians, who are you talking to? Ms. O'Neill. We are talking to those people. In fact, we have been working with our library network. We have been working with the management. We have internally been working very hard on this, and we have been briefing, I know we are briefing some of these organizations, in terms of what the plans are. I am not sure we have gotten to all of them. Effect of Library Closings on EPA Employees Chairman Miller. Mr. Orzehoskie, in my opening statement, I said that my understanding what was the abrupt closing and boxing up of materials had hobbled EPA's employees' ability to do their job. Could you--and that was based upon what I understood from your testimony and from others, but could you kind of give us a sense of the practical effect of the closings and reduced services available from the libraries, the practical effect it has on EPA's employees' ability to do their job? Mr. Orzehoskie. Well, it has an array of effects, and I am not the best to be a library expert. I am a Union guy, but I have talked to some of our people, and we had testimony at our arbitration. And the main thing, in general, is that there is no place to go, within EPA Region 5 offices, to get library assistance, okay. We are told, and I have talked to some people who can get help through Cincinnati over the telephone, or through the computer network, to get some research. It takes days, now, so when you are doing something that is really timely, those delays can be very critical. If you are going to be testifying at an enforcement hearing the next day or two days later, you may not have time to wait to go to a remote location and get your information. I have had people tell me that some of the technical journals that are not necessarily reproducible, because they are copyrighted, and some of the technical reference material, individuals have actually purchased, because they can't wait for delays, and in some cases, can't get it digitized anyway. Those kinds of things. And if you saw the picture that was up there of all those boxes, I mean, if you wanted one of the documents in that box, how would you get it? Chairman Miller. How would you know where it was? Mr. Orzehoskie. Exactly. Chairman Miller. Dr. Grifo. Progress Report on Digitization Dr. Grifo. I think it is interesting that, you know, we still haven't heard a progress report on the digitization. I mean, we are talking about, okay, these libraries are gone, they are physically not there, and we have talked about the kinds of things that are replacing them, I mean, the desktop libraries, the digitization of some things, and so on, the interlibrary loan system. But I think it is important to understand, and this number comes from one of the EPA's own documents, that those things, even when that digitization is complete, even when those documents, those unique documents, which are really all EPA documents, are made available electronically, that that is really less than one percent of the holdings of the libraries. So, I think our concern is with all of these other documents. I mean, there are, you know, reference materials, copyrighted materials, older journals. I mean, there is a whole long list of things, particularly, you know, documents produced by contractors, documents produced specifically for guidance, as background for guidance and determinations. I mean, if we think back to the complexity of the mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency, I may not have the number exactly right, but it is something like, you know, 14 pieces of legislation that govern this Agency, and many of those have very specific instructions about best available science, science-based information, and how is this to happen if these things, if these very important resources have been essentially in limbo, inaccessible, you know, unreachable, unusable for now going on, what, 17 months, a very long time? How many decisions have been made in that 17 months without the best available science there for them to be used? Chairman Miller. Thank you. I know the red light has come on, but Mr. Stephenson, I would like to give you a chance to address this as well. Your point of view is not that of a stakeholder, but someone who has, I assume, entered upon the question without preconception. Mr. Stephenson. Well, in these cases, we rely on others with their expert opinion, and I think Dr. Grifo mentioned that they did a survey of EPA's own scientists, and they admitted that it impaired their ability to do their job. The Federal Arbitrator, when he rendered his decision, said that was one of the factors in his decision, that EPA's actions affected the employees' abilities to do their jobs. So, you don't have to believe GAO. We didn't have to find anything original. There is all kinds of evidence out there that, in fact, these documents are in limbo, and--or there is one percent or not. EPA at this point doesn't know what it should digitize, and what it should not digitize. Should it make a PDF file out of it? Should it make a searchable file out of it? It hasn't inventoried what it has, and gone through the process of determining what makes the most sense for this individual document. Chairman Miller. My time has expired. Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall. Well, I am not here to, as a protector of EPA, nor as an admirer of EPA. I have, I represent a state that is an energy state, and we have had a lot of problems with the EPA, and seeking answers to them, and when they wouldn't give us answers, we have sent up amendments to give them 30 days to say yes or no, and not caring whether they said yes or no, but to give us an answer we could appeal from. And that really hasn't worked too well, so--but I want to be fair with the lady that is here to offer her knowledge and-- of the past, and what is present, and what they intend to do, and then, I guess that is the duty of this Chairman, and of those of us who are asking you questions, to lay that out, and to be helpful to you if we can be, to pull you together, and give us instructions, and if it, your purposes here to tell us whether we need further legislation, what to do about the future, and I haven't heard anybody say, or make any suggestions on that, but I haven't been here, so you might have made your suggestions. But I have found EPA hard to deal with, and I wouldn't take an appointment as the Administrator of EPA if it paid $10 million a year, because there is no way in the world you can do your job. If you do what Congress tells you to do, you are going to get sued, and if you don't, you are going to get sued. So, it is a tough situation. I think they could be better in answering and giving definite answers, and not stall anybody that wants to build a $100 million refinery when gas prices are going to $4 a gallon, when they want an approval of a request for a permit, and just not to act on it, because you can't appeal on a no action. You have to have either a turn down or an approval, and we set it up to where if they made, and I think it is in the Energy Act a year and a half ago, had an amendment there that said if we made a request, or industry made a request to build or to upgrade a refinery, that they would have 30 days, EPA would have 30 days to answer that, not caring if they said yes or no, because you can appeal from what they do. You can't appeal from nothing, and somehow, EPA was strong enough to knock that out, and we didn't get that in that Act. But I am not here to uphold EPA, but to be fair with Ms. O'Neill, and give her a chance to answer any questions that you all have set up, and Mr. Sensenbrenner will look at the information that you have, that will go of record. The Chairman will see that all of your testimony goes into the record, and your presentation that you read from initially, and he will have some questions. So, Mr. Chairman, I don't have anything further to say. I yield back my time, and I thank you for it. Chairman Miller. Thank you, Mr. Hall. More on EPA's Report to Congress Ms. O'Neill, I have a few more questions about the report that will be due in just a couple weeks, that you spoke about a minute or two ago. Who precisely is participating in preparing the report? Ms. O'Neill. Excuse me. We have been working with our, at OEI, obviously, we take the lead. Our Office of Environmental Information takes the lead to do the response, so we are working closely with our library network, as well as, with our network of libraries for the---- Chairman Miller. Which--well---- Ms. O'Neill.--as well as the regions and the headquarters and the Chemical Library that are affected with this. Chairman Miller. Well, I think my question what I am trying to get at is exactly which EPA employees are preparing the report, doing the work and putting it together? Ms. O'Neill. There are people from my staff, and there are, I am not sure if there are, who is actually writing it beyond that, in terms of the library network, that they have written parts of, but a lot of my staff are. Chairman Miller. So, it is your office that is preparing it. Ms. O'Neill. That is correct. Chairman Miller. Okay. And it will be ready in two weeks, or---- Ms. O'Neill. Yes. Chairman Miller.--17 days, whatever is left. Ms. O'Neill. Yes, we will be responsive. Chairman Miller. Okay. And to whom are you submitting it for review before it is released? Ms. O'Neill. I believe we are, and I apologize for not knowing the full process here, this is the first time I have had to do an appropriations response, so I know right now, it is an internal review with our Office of Financial, or Financial Officer right now, just to make sure it is an appropriations request, to see if we have fully answered the request. Chairman Miller. What about OMB? Ms. O'Neill. I don't know. I am assuming it is going. Chairman Miller. You are assuming? Ms. O'Neill. It is going. Chairman Miller. That OMB will see it. Ms. O'Neill. I don't know for a fact. Is EPA Briefing Stakeholders on the Report? Chairman Miller. Okay. A moment ago, Ms. O'Neill said that stakeholders were being briefed in advance. Is that correct? Ms. O'Neill. To my knowledge, I believe we talked about this yesterday in my, in one of my briefings, that we were going to reach out to--if we had time, obviously, if we had an opportunity to reach out to the--if there is a union meeting set up or something to reach out and talk to the unions, because we talked about, when the arbitration hearing came down, what we can do, in terms of telling them what was going to be in the plan. Beyond that, quite frankly, I will have to get back to you on specifically who else we have reached out to, external to EPA. Chairman Miller. Mr. Orzehoskie, have you been briefed, or--do you know if the AFGE has been briefed or consulted in any way? Mr. Orzehoskie. As far as I know, AFGE has not been briefed. I know I personally have not. Chairman Miller. Right. Mr. Orzehoskie. And I think that is my concern, she said if we had time. You know, we went to arbitration. We have a Federal Arbitrator say they are supposed to negotiate with us, and she says if they have time, they might talk to us. Chairman Miller. And that time would come in the next two weeks. Ms. O'Neill said if there was a meeting already scheduled or not. Could you schedule a meeting just for this? Mr. Orzehoskie. Well, certainly. Chairman Miller. All right. I thought you might be able to work that into your schedule. How about Dr. Grifo, has Union of Concerned Scientists or scientists individually been consulted, briefed, that you know of? Dr. Grifo. Not to my knowledge, but we would be happy to set up a meeting on a moment's notice, almost. Chairman Miller. All right. Well, it sounds like that is what you will get. Dr. Grifo. That is okay. Chairman Miller. You might want to clear your calendar for March 30 and 31. Dr. Grifo. Good enough. Chairman Miller. Mr. Rettig, how about you. How about the librarians? Mr. Rettig. Well, the ALA Washington office staff would be the contact for that, and they have not informed me of any such discussions to date. Chairman Miller. Would you expect that they would? Mr. Rettig. We certainly hope so, and we would be very willing to enter into dialogue. Chairman Miller. Okay. But would you expect that the Washington office would have told you, would have mentioned it to you? Mr. Rettig. I don't know how many times I have spoken with staff at the Washington office this week. It would have come up then, I am sure. Chairman Miller. Okay. It seems like something might come up, particularly since you were testifying today. And you might want to suggest to the librarians that they keep the 30th and 31st of March free as well for consultation before the report is released. Effect of Librarian Loss on EPA Employees Mr. Rettig, I know I asked Mr. Orzehoskie and Dr. Grifo about the--how the day to day work of EPA employees and scientists was affected by the closing and limiting of the libraries, but how is the loss of librarians, what role do they play, and how does that affect employee effectiveness, and the effectiveness for scientists in doing their research? Mr. Rettig. Librarians bring an added value to any organization that operates on information. Not every scientist can know where all of the information that might be relevant to his or her work is available. This is what librarians specialize in. This is what we do. We help connect people to that relevant information that they can use. This is not something that one, you know, picks up just even from day to day experience. It requires education and study, and we believe that it is essential that if a federal agency is going to call something a library, that it be managed by librarians. Is EPA Reaching Out to Communities With Library Closures? Chairman Miller. Okay. Ms. O'Neill, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson was here earlier, but was not able to come back after the moment of silence, but she is particularly interested in Dallas, Texas. We are all proudly parochial in our jobs in the House. That is our job. And the regional library there, of course, was closed. The public, in addition to the EPA employees in that region, relied on that office, as did the public. What are you all doing to reach out specifically to the people in the regions where the libraries are closed, and most specifically, to Dallas? Or they should be available on March 30 or 31, for consultation? Ms. O'Neill. No. No, we have been working with the regions, as I mentioned over the past two months, in terms of what the needs are, in terms of reestablishing the physical presence. Dallas is not--is one of those regions that we are working with. Chairman Miller. Who precisely are you talking about? Ms. O'Neill. I would have to get back to you on the exact names, but I am sure we have been coordinating through the ARA, the Assistant Regional Administrator, and his staff there. Chairman Miller. And they have been talking to members of the public who use that library? Ms. O'Neill. I can't answer that question for the record. Chairman Miller. Okay. We are obviously being called to the Floor for something. Mr. Hall, do you have any questions at this point? Mr. Hall. I will ask one question. Ms. O'Neill, is there anything that we haven't asked you that you would like for us to ask you, to where you can give us full information that you have for these four people that are sitting by you there? Ms. O'Neill. Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. Just, you know, we have talked a little bit about, a little bit, and I recognize that we don't have a lot of time here, about the plan that is coming out to reestablish the physical presence in the actual regions and headquarters, and the Chemical Library, that have closed. I also want to just say for the record, one of the things that we are doing, because we have been listening to people, we have spent a lot of time in the last year reaching out to people, is that beyond that, we are actually looking at establishing some minimum standards for those libraries that have remained open, but to make sure everyone is on the same, and has the same amount of good quality service, that we have standard hours in place, and things like that. So, we really have gone out and listened, in terms of some of the things that people are concerned about. So, the report will also address that as well. More on the EPA Report to Congress Mr. Hall. And is your deadline for support set by someone above, and within the EPA, or is that Congressional, or who sets that deadline that you are trying to meet? Ms. O'Neill. Yeah, there is a Congressional deadline, actually. I believe it is the 26th, so the time would be before that, Mr. Chairman, or the 30th or 31st. Mr. Hall. And that is--and you intend to comply with that. Ms. O'Neill. We have to comply with that. But we, I will say, even after the report is written, we do plan on meeting with a lot of the folks outside to get the details of the plan, to make sure, because some of these, as I have mentioned, each region has a different, is in a different place right now, so we have to really work through some of the details, in terms of buildouts, what the requirements are going to be for each of these libraries, and things like that. And we have got to, we have got a very good idea of what those things are, but we can certainly have some of these other folks that are interested in working with us identify some of the details to that, but---- Mr. Hall. Do you seek any of their advice on when you are writing out your report? It would seem like Mr. Rettig would be a great source for you. Ms. O'Neill. Yes, and as I mentioned earlier, we have been very, very busy internally, making sure that we can meet our commitment, okay, both from a financial standpoint--but one of the things we don't want to do, quite frankly, is reestablish these libraries, and then not have the commitment to make sure that they continue beyond next year. And so, one of the things we have been really working with is to make sure there is a commitment financially as well, to make sure that we open them, and that they stay open, meeting the requirements that we are putting in place. Mr. Hall. And I can't see Charlie's last name, but he represents an awful lot of people that are looking to him to represent them, and to give them advice, and would he not be a good reference for you, someone to work with? Ms. O'Neill. Yes, he would, sir. Mr. Hall. I would yield back my time. Reopening EPA Libraries Chairman Miller. Thank you, Mr. Hall. We do have a few more minutes, because the vote will be a procedural vote, and it usually is left open for a while. Ms. O'Neill, I have a few questions that are not essay questions or even short answer questions, but really are true/ false questions, or yes or no questions. Will the EPA reopen the three closed regional libraries this fiscal year? Ms. O'Neill. Yes. Chairman Miller. That is your commitment. Ms. O'Neill. Yes. Chairman Miller. Will you reopen the headquarters library this fiscal year? Ms. O'Neill. Yes. Chairman Miller. That is your commitment. Ms. O'Neill. Yes. Chairman Miller. Will the EPA reopen the Chemical Library this fiscal year? Ms. O'Neill. Yes. Chairman Miller. And that is your commitment. Ms. O'Neill. Yes. Chairman Miller. Okay. Mr. Stephenson, again, thank you for the GAO's report, for your work on this. It certainly sounds like there may be the occasion for more work. Will the GAO be ready to assess what happens from this point forward? Mr. Stephenson. We respond to all requests. Chairman Miller. Well, I appreciate that you will respond. I hope the response will be yes, you will do the report, additional report. All right. Thank you all for appearing. We do need to go for votes, and I think that we don't really have time for closing statements, but I think we have all made our views pretty well known. So, thank you for appearing, and this may not be the last time. And under the rules of the Committee, the record will be held open for two weeks for Members to submit additional statements, and any additional questions, including from Mr. Sensenbrenner, that they might have for the witnesses, and I ask now for unanimous consent to enter a packet of materials in the record. Hearing no objection, the materials will be entered in the record. And the hearing is now adjourned. Thank you. [Whereupon, at 11:27 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] Appendix 1: ---------- Answers to Post-Hearing Questions <SKIP PAGES = 000> Answers to Post-Hearing Questions Responses by John B. Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office Q1. You stated in your testimony that EPA's justification for reorganizing the library system was to generate cost savings. How much was needed to operate the library system before this reorganization occurred? a. Did EPA conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether such reorganization would actually produce cost savings? b. If not, how could EPA determine it was not setting itself up for greater funding needs through this reorganization? A1. According to EPA officials, the agency began reorganizing the library network to create cost savings through a more coordinated library network and more electronic delivery of services. EPA's 26 libraries within the network are operated by eight program offices and the regional offices. There is no line item for EPA libraries included in the President's budget nor in EPA's more detailed budget justification to Congress. Because of this and due to the decentralized nature of the library network, funding for the entire library network was not tracked by EPA. As a result of our review, however, EPA did provide us with estimated figures on the amount of spending by each library within the network over a five-year period. Based on this data, library spending remained relatively stable, ranging from about $7.14 million to $7.85 million between fiscal years 2002 through 2006.\1\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ These figures are based on estimates from EPA. We did not independently determine their accuracy. Because EPA did not track library funding, each library in the network provided estimates that were based on past spending or enacted funding or both. In addition, libraries also varied in the type of spending data provided in terms of whether the data included contract costs, salaries, and acquisitions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- EPA did not conduct a formal benefit-cost analysis to determine whether the reorganization, as it occurred in fiscal year 2007, would result in cost savings. Beginning in 2003, EPA began assessing its library network by conducting a business case assessment of its library network and a study of options for future regional library operations.\2\ These two studies primarily focused on the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) headquarters library and the regional office libraries and were intended to determine the value of library services and inform management in the regions on their options to support library services beyond fiscal year 2006. However, EPA did not conduct a formal benefit-cost analysis of various alternatives to reorganizing the entire library network per OMB guidance.\3\ Such guidance specifies that agencies should conduct a benefit-cost analysis to support decisions to initiate, renew, or expand programs or projects, and that in conducting such an analysis, tangible and intangible benefits and cost should be identified, assessed, and reported. One element of a benefit-cost analysis is an evaluation of alternatives that would consider different methods of providing services in achieving program objectives. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Information, Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers, EPA 260-R-04-001 (January 2004); and Optional Approaches to U.S. EPA Regional Library Support, EPA 260-R-05-002 (June 2005). \3\ Office of Management and Budget, Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Federal Programs, OMB Circular A-94 (Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 1992). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In determining the $2 million cost reduction for the OEI and regional office libraries as proposed in the President's fiscal year 2007 budget, EPA did not conduct a formal cost assessment. According to EPA officials, the $2 million funding reduction was informally estimated in 2005 with the expectation that EPA would have been further along in its library reorganization effort. Furthermore, EPA did not comprehensively assess library network spending in advance of the $2 million estimation of budget cuts. Without conducting a formal benefit-cost assessment, it would have been difficult for EPA to determine whether the reorganization approach taken would be the most cost effective and beneficial in the long-term or whether additional funds would be needed in the short-term to implement the reorganization--such as boxing, shipping, and digitizing library materials. Q2. When disposing of documents, did EPA violate the Federal Property Management Regulations? A2. We believe EPA did not follow federal property management statutes and regulations when its libraries transferred property to non- governmental entities; as well as when its libraries abandoned or destroyed property without first making a written determination that it had no commercial value. The management of federal property generally is governed by federal property management laws, 40 U.S.C. 101 et seq. By law, ``property'' means ``any interest in property,'' and excludes ``records of the Government.'' 40 U.S.C. 102. Under the Federal Records Act, the term ``records'' does not include ``library. . .material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference. . .purposes,'' 44 U.S.C. 3301, and thus disposition of government library reference materials is to be carried out in accordance with the federal property management laws. Under the federal property management laws and regulations, ``excess property'' is ``property under the control of a federal agency that the head of the agency determines is not required to meet the agency's needs or responsibilities.'' 40 U.S.C. 102(3), 41 C.F.R. 102-36.40. Generally, federal agencies must promptly report their excess property to the General Services Administration (GSA), which administers the federal property management system. 40 U.S.C. 524(a)(3). GSA then may determine whether the property may still meet the needs and responsibilities of other federal agencies. 41 C.F.R. 102-36.35. If the property is not needed within the Federal Government, GSA then determines the property surplus to the Federal Government and may direct that the surplus property be donated to eligible entities or that. it be offered for sale to the public by competitive offerings. Id. However, federal agencies may take certain actions without first notifying GSA. For example, agencies may abandon or destroy excess property without first notifying GSA, provided that the agency makes a written determination that the property has no commercial value or the estimated cost of its continued care and handling would exceed the estimated profits from its sale. 41 C.F.R. 102-36.305. In lieu of abandonment or destruction, agencies may donate excess property without first notifying GSA; however, such donations must be only to a ``public body,'' such as a State or local government agency. 41 C.F.R. 102- 36.320. In addition, under some circumstances federal agencies may transfer excess property directly to another federal agency without first notifying GSA. 41 C.F.R. 102-36.145. Although government agencies may donate property that is ultimately given to non-profit entities, generally GSA must approve such donations.\4\ 41 C.F.R. 102-37.120. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \4\ Generally, agencies may not donate property directly to non- profit entities. Instead, such donations must be made to a designated state agency, which then transfers the property to the non-profit entity. 41 C.F.R. 102-37.35. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Because the EPA materials at issue are library materials acquired for reference purposes, the materials are not ``records'' and instead are ``property''; therefore, the materials are subject to the provisions of the federal property management statutes and their implementing regulations. EPA libraries in Regions 5 and 6 did not follow federal property management statutes and their implementing regulations when the libraries transferred materials to nongovernmental entities.\5\ After EPA determined that library materials in Regions 5 and 6 were not required to meet EPA's needs or responsibilities, the materials became excess property. EPA could have transferred the excess property directly to another federal agency. Had EPA first made a written determination that the property lacked commercial value or that the estimated cost of continued care and handling of the property exceeded the estimated proceeds from sale, EPA could have abandoned or destroyed the property. In lieu of abandonment or destruction, EPA could have transferred the excess property to eligible public bodies. Alternatively, EPA could have notified GSA of its excess property and then followed the applicable GSA regulations for the disposition of such property. As discussed in our report, however, EPA did not notify GSA of its excess property, made no written determination that the property lacked commercial value or that the estimated cost of continued care and handling of the property exceeded the estimated proceeds from sale, and transferred the property without charge directly to private entities.\6\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \5\ For example, the Region 5 library transferred materials to BASF Corporation of Wyandotte, Michigan and to Bear River Associates of Oakland, California. In addition, the Region 6 library transferred materials such as Preliminary Air Pollution Survey of Chromium and Its Compounds: a Literature Review to Cambridge Environmental of Boston, Massachusetts. \6\ GAO, Environmental Protection: EPA Needs to Ensure That Best Practices and Procedures Are Followed When Making Further Changes to Its Library Network, GAO-08-304, at 39 (February 29, 2008). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Similarly, EPA did not follow the federal property statutes and their implementing regulations when the OEI headquarters library and the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances chemical library abandoned or destroyed property without first making a written determination that it had no commercial value or that the estimated cost of continued care and handling of the property exceeded the estimated proceeds from sale. In total, the OEI headquarters library abandoned or destroyed over 800 books and journals and the chemical library abandoned or destroyed over 3,000 books and journals without making a written determination that the property had no commercial value or that the estimated cost of continued care and handling of the property exceeded the estimated proceeds from sale.\7\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \7\ For example, the chemical library abandoned or destroyed Smith, Mark C., Christiani, David C., and Kelsey, Karl T. Chemical Risk Assessment and Occupational Health: Current Applications, Limitations, and Future Prospects. Westport, Connecticut: Auburn House, 1994. Journal titles abandoned or destroyed include Journal of Environmental Pathology and Toxicology and Pesticides Monitoring Journal. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Answers to Post-Hearing Questions Responses by Molly A. O'Neill, Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information, The Office of Environmental Information (OEI); Chief Information Officer (CIO), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Q1. How did EPA evaluate the potential cost savings of its library modernization? A1. EPA is moving to an expanded reliance on the electronic delivery of library services, which will provide greater access to information for EPA employees and the public. This model provides more library materials electronically and on the EPA Web site thereby increasing accessibility to environmental information and increasing the efficiency by which employees and the public can find and obtain the materials they need. In addition to improved electronic access, EPA continues to maintain a strong network of physical libraries to provide another avenue for access to EPA materials. While EPA did not conduct a formal evaluation of the potential costs savings, we are confident that the modernization of our overall library network and the expanding use of electronic delivery of these services will allow for greater access to information, faster, and at reduced costs. Q2. How much money did EPA determine it would save by closing and reducing operations at libraries? A2. While EPA did not conduct a formal evaluation of the potential costs savings, we are confident that the modernization of our overall library network and the expanding use of electronic delivery of these services will allow for greater and faster access to information at reduced costs. Q3. In 2004 EPA conducted a review of the library system and found that it was cost effective. Given the findings of this report, why would EPA close libraries because of budget constraints? A3. The review that EPA conducted in 2004 was not a review of its library system, but rather a review of the cost-benefit of its library services. The report found that the services provided by the network libraries were of value to the agency. During the development of the modernization plan every effort was made to ensure continuity of these valuable services. Furthermore, modernizing the EPA's library network system will enable EPA to provide library services more efficiently and will ensure that a high level of service will continue to all users. Q4. When was the planning for these closings initiated? Was it before or after the 2004 Business Case Report? A4. Preliminary discussion on the effort to modernize the library network was begun as early as 2003 and the business case and other studies were conducted as part of the overall plan for the modernization efforts. Q5. To what extent did EPA include findings and recommendations from earlier reviews in their decision to close and scale back operations at libraries? A5. EPA's commitment to maintaining library services, as opposed to physical library space, was built upon earlier findings, including recommendations from the Regional Library Network Workgroup. Q6. Would you characterize this situation as an anomaly for EPA, or is it representative of systematic problems at the agency? A6. EPA believes that the efforts we have undertaken as part of our overall library modernization efforts are important ways to ensure that more information about the environment is accessible to a wider audience for EPA staff, our partners and the public. However, EPA does recognize that more could have been done to better communicate the details of the plan and its implementation. EPA is working closely with both internal and external stakeholders to ensure that as we continue to move forward with making more information available to a broader audience we do so understanding we are meeting their library service needs. Q7. Please describe the difference between EPA unique documents and non-unique documents? How does EPA plan on handling each? A7. EPA unique documents are those documents published by or on behalf of EPA for which only one copy exists within the EPA National Library Network (Network). Non-unique EPA documents are those published by or on behalf of EPA for which multiple copies exist within the Network. Non-EPA documents that are EPA library holdings are addressed below in the response to Question 10. EPA's goal is to hold one copy of each of the unique EPA documents in one of the Agency's Repositories, and create a second paper copy to be held in archive in a separate location accessible only to library staff. In addition, the Agency's goal is to hold one copy of each of the non-unique EPA documents in the appropriate Agency Repository and a second copy in the archive. Any Network library holding copies of the non-unique EPA documents will be able to keep them in their collections. Q8. What is EPA doing with non-unique EPA documents? Are they being donated or destroyed? A8. Each library in the Network holding copies of the non-unique EPA documents will follow best library practices and Agency procedures on the areas of collection development, library materials dispersal, and repository management in handling those copies. Such practices would include: <bullet> Sending to one of the designated EPA repositories in RTP, Cincinnati, or Headquarters, or send to another EPA library in the Library Network. <bullet> Offering parts of collections to other libraries in EPA. For those documents that EPA decides should be dispersed outside of the Agency, EPA will choose from the following external dispersion options: <bullet> Offer parts of collections to the Library of Congress. <bullet> Offer parts of collections to other federal, State and local governments for their libraries. <bullet> Offer parts of collections to local research universities for their libraries. In addition, EPA will follow federal property management regulations when determining disposition of library materials. Q9. What percentage of documents at EPA libraries is unique to those libraries? A9. The percentages vary from a high of around 15 percent for three libraries to a low of 0.03 percent for five libraries. Q10. How did EPA intend to handle non-EPA documents that may be under copyright protection? How do you ensure that access to that information does not change when you are transitioning to a modern database? A10. EPA recognizes that copyrighted materials cannot be digitized and that not all such materials are available in digital format. For this reason, EPA will continue to have physical library collections available to meet the needs of its users. Q11. Is the Great Lakes Collection referenced by Mr. Orzehoskie in his testimony an EPA unique document that would be digitized and retained? Is it available anywhere outside of the EPA library system? A11. The EPA library system holds a number of EPA publications and other commercially produced materials on the topic of Great Lakes. Many if not most of these materials are available outside the EPA library system. The unique EPA documents will be digitized, and hard copies will be retained, as described in the answer to Question 7. Q12. What effect did increased security procedures at federal facilities after September 1, 2001 have on the use of EPA libraries? A12. Most of the EPA libraries have experienced a downward trend in the number of on-site visitors over the past few years. That trend has continued since September 11, 2001, due, in part, to increased security in federal facilities, as well as the increased availability of information in electronic format. Q13. Has attendance and use of EPA libraries dropped in recent years? Which regions were affected the most? Was there a difference in the number of requests placed at those sites, or simply the number of users? How does this influence staffing and hours of operation? A13. Overall EPA libraries have seen a reduction in the on-site use of our physical library space. The libraries in Region 1, Boston, Region 2, New York City, and Region 7, Kansas City were affected the most. It is difficult to analyze the foot traffic to determine how libraries are being used by the public or EPA employees. For example, libraries expressed that they have seen increased use by external and internal library patrons of e-mail, telephone, and the Internet to request assistance from the library staff. These popular access venues, coupled with increased security at federal facilities could explain the reported decrease in walk-ins. The decline in walk-in users led EPA to adjust on-site staffing and hours, and to offer more on-line services to its internal and external patrons. Q14. Did any libraries choose to close or limit operations without EPA Headquarters direction? A14. For the last few years, Regions have faced significant budget constraints in the delivery of central support services including libraries. When it appeared that further reductions to the support dollars were likely, they assessed their situation and made independent decisions as to how to respond. Q15. What steps did EPA take to comply with the Federal Property Management Regulations? Did EPA violate that Act? A15. EPA followed the General Services Administration (GSA) Property Disposition Guidelines for any furniture or equipment removed from closed libraries. It is unclear whether library holdings (i.e., books, journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.) are subject to the Federal Property Management Regulations. EPA contacted GSA staff for advice on handling materials in the EPA libraries. GSA recommended that EPA property management officials be consulted. In general the property management regulations apply to items such as furniture. Whether and how these standards apply to some resources provided by libraries is a unique problem that continues to be addressed. Because of this lack of overall guidance for federal libraries, the Library of Congress' Federal Library and Information Collection Committee (FLICC)/Fedlink is establishing a work group to work with GSA to develop guidelines for federal libraries in accordance with library best practices and property regulations. Q16. Is there a universal criterion for document disposition? What types of information will be destroyed? What type of information will be donated? A16. There is no universal criterion for document disposition in the library profession. Libraries, in general, are organic operations that regularly engage in the process of acquiring and dispersing materials to manage their collections to meet the needs of their users. The EPA National Library Network is developing dispersal procedures to assist network libraries in managing their on-site collections. Q17. What is EPA's timeline for completing the modernization process? A17. With technology that allows for greater access and use of information evolving every day, EPA cannot put a specific end date on the continuing modernization of our library network and the expansion of access to more and more information. EPA does intend to ensure on- site library services to its Headquarters and Regional facilities by September 30, 2008. Q18. How long does the typical interlibrary loan process take? A18. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests for materials within the Network are supplied quickly, usually in a matter of a day or two for items that require hard copy delivery and possibly in the same day if the material is scanned and delivered electronically. Rush requests are expedited and have been filled in as little as one hour. For example 53 percent of the Region 5 requests were provided the same or next day with many requests being provided within an hour or two. Also, 87 percent of the items requested by Region 5 were received within two to five days. Survey results from the lead service centers show a customer satisfaction rate of 95 percent or higher for turnaround time. In certain situations the process can take up to ten business days. This could occur when the materials requested are from libraries outside the EPA Network and depends on the availability of the requested materials and the response time of the outside libraries. Q19. When will digitization be completed? Has EPA consulted with outside groups on how this process will be carried out? A19. No further digitization of EPA documents has taken place since January 31, 2007. EPA requested a third party review of its digitization efforts in early 2007. The resulting documents include a series of recommendations on the digitization process and on the usability of the user interface. EPA plans to convene a panel of outside experts to assist the Agency in prioritizing the recommendations made in the study. Once this occurs, digitization can restart. At that time we can project a completion date for this effort. Appendix 2: ---------- Additional Material for the Record [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT