EPA FY 2007 LIBRARY PLAN:
National Framework for the Headquarters and
Regional Libraries
Office of Environmental Information
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
August 15, 2006
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EPA FY 2007 Library Plan: National Framework for the
Headquarters and Regional Libraries
Introduction
Over the past three years, EPA has been looking at ways to modernize and improve the way it
provides library services to its employees and the public. The trend in recent years has shown a
shift in the way people request and receive their library services from EPA. With more materials
available online and electronically, EPA has found that its employees and the public are finding
the materials they need from EPA's Web site and they are requesting more information
electronically. In addition, with tighter security at its facilities, the public's physical visits to the
EPA libraries have been declining. EPA has also realized that it could gain efficiencies in
having its regional libraries work more as a cohesive network with shared functions as opposed
to their current operations. These trends all suggested to EPA that it needs to use information
technology to improve its delivery of library services, and it needs to streamline the number of
physical libraries to gain efficiencies.
In early 2003, at the request of the Assistant Regional Administrators (ARA), the Office of
Environmental Information (OEI) conducted a feasibility study of options for future regional
library operations. Subsequently, OEI developed two reports—Business Case for Information
Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and Centers', and Optional Approaches to U.S. EPA
Regional Library Support. These studies intended to inform the ARAs on their options to
support library services in each of the Regions beyond FY2006.
In August 2005, the ARAs formed a Regional Library Network Workgroup Initiative to conduct
a study of the OEI report and develop recommendations on ways to maintain an effective Library
Network in the event of a reduction to the library support budget. The Workgroup, co-chaired
by Regions 8 and 10, involved federal library managers from the Regions and Headquarters. In
2006 EPA received the FY 07 President's Budget, which included a proposed $2 million
reduction to the OEI library budget. This proposed budget reduction accelerated EPA's efforts
to develop a plan to modernize its library system. In past years, this budget was allocated to the
Headquarters and Regional libraries, which comprise 11 of the 26 libraries in the EPA Network.
While this specific budget reduction does not affect the other libraries in the EPA system, such
as the Office of Administration and Resource Management (OARM) libraries and the Office of
Research and Development's laboratory libraries, EPA recognizes that any reduction in services
at some of its libraries will undoubtedly have an impact on the rest of the libraries in the
Network. For a list of all the libraries in the EPA Library Network, please see Attachment 3.
To prepare for the budget reduction, EPA established a Library Steering Committee in the fall of
2005 composed of senior managers from EPA's Program Offices and Regions, co-chaired by
OEI and Region 4. The goal of this Steering Committee was to develop a new model of
providing library services to EPA staff. The Steering Committee reviewed the recommendations
from the staff level Regional Library Network Workgroup and it conducted additional analyses.
This document—the EPA FY2007 Library Plan: National Framework for the Headquarters and
Regional Libraries—is a result of the work of the Steering Committee.
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The following is a description of the new model EPA plans to implement to ensure that EPA
employees continue to receive quality library services and that the public continues to have
access to EPA information. EPA plans to begin transitioning to the new model in Summer 2006
in preparation for the budget reduction at the beginning of the FY 2007 budget cycle in October
2006. In FY 2007, EPA plans to implement a phased approach to disperse and/or dispose of
library collections in those libraries that will close access to their physical collections.
Attachment 4 contains clarification and additional information on topics covered in this plan.
Library Services for EPA Employees
The new model of providing library services ensures that EPA employees will continue to
receive the same quality of library services. While the quality and level of library services will
remain the same, employees will receive these services through different and more efficient
means. EPA will provide training opportunities and guidance materials to instruct employees on
the use of EPA's library services. The new model has three main components:
• A Coordinated Library Network: As mentioned above, under EPA's current library
model, the Headquarters and Regional libraries work independently. The new model will
move the libraries from stand alone operations to a network of coordinated services.
While EPA plans to streamline its physical libraries, it will ensure continued access to its
collections of unique and valuable EPA documents by creating repository libraries. In
addition, EPA is developing Library Centers of Expertise. For example, a library with
more expertise in a specific area of reference research will provide that service to
employees in other Regions.
• Electronic Delivery of Services: EPA is moving to delivering more services online.
EPA will work to provide more documents in electronic format; it will maintain the
Online Library System so employees can locate documents electronically; and it will
maintain the Desktop Subscription services.
• Maintain Essential Services: EPA will maintain all essential library services for EPA
employees; they will just be delivered in a different way. The following is a list of the
essential services EPA employees have today and a description of how they will be
delivered under the new model:
Desktop Subscriptions
EPA employees will continue to have access to the full EPA Desktop Library,
which brings electronic information sources to all EPA employees through the
EPA Intranet. Employees can access current news, journal articles, reports, and
reference materials from their desktop. Desktop Subscriptions is a Working
Capital Fund Service charged to all desktops.
Interlibrary Loans
EPA employees will continue to have access to the materials they need via
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) services. ILL includes the retrieval of internal and
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external library collections for EPA patrons. ILL will be provided in the Regions
and Headquarters to enable EPA staff and contractors to borrow materials from
other libraries. Providers and procedures to obtain this service will vary from
Region to Region. If the Region chooses to use another EPA library, such as the
libraries of the EPA Office of Administration and Resource Management, to
provide interlibrary loan services to their employees, there will be a cost for this
service to the Region. Regions who opt to obtain this service from another library
will establish a liaison in their Region to manage their ILL requests. All ILL
requests will be channeled through the liaison for tracking, quality control, and
budgeting purposes. An alternate liaison should be established to provide
continuity of operations.
Online Library System (OLS)
EPA employees (and the public) will continue to have access to the Online
Library System (OLS). OLS is the backbone of library services at EPA,
supporting the Agency's search, circulation, interlibrary loan, cataloging, and
library acquisitions functions. In FY 2007, the Office of Environmental
Information will fund the maintenance of the OLS. Future funding mechanisms,
such as including OLS as part of the EPA Desktop Subscriptions, are being
explored.
Reference/Research Services
EPA employees will continue to have access to Reference/Research Services. In
many Regions and at Headquarters, the workforce performs most of their own
research online. To assist this research, the workforce will continue to have
access to the EPA Desktop Library of subscription databases, such as Dialog,
Science Direct, and News Bank. For more advanced research, a member of the
Regional workforce will be able to contact their Regional or Headquarters liaison,
who will forward the request to Research Triangle Park's (RTP) or Cincinnati's
reference librarians or a different service provider. Some Regions will maintain
limited local research capability and/or offer services on specialized topics, such
as business or legal research. For instance, Region 3 and Region 10 have agreed
to become a service provider to other Regional offices who need company
research information for their enforcement/litigation needs. In all of these cases
there will be a cost for the services offered to other Regions.
EPA Library Services for the Public
EPA currently uses many different mechanisms to get information to the public, such as the EPA
Web site and response to information requests via phone, e-mail and postal mail. EPA libraries
have also played a role in providing public access to environmental information. With tightened
security at EPA facilities, there has been a drop in the number of physical walk-ins to EPA's
libraries. EPA has also found that most of its requests for information come to the Agency via
phone, not walk-ins. Due to these trends, EPA is moving toward providing public access to
environmental information through more electronic means. The following is a description of
how EPA will provide library services to the public.
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Requests for Information Received via Phone, Fax, Email, and Postal Mail
Requests for information from EPA are received by many different organizations in EPA. In
some cases the public requests information directly from an EPA library or a request is routed
from an EPA program to the library. To ensure that the public's requests are answered in a
timely manner, EPA will implement the following:
• Headquarters and all the Regions will have a plan to manage public inquiries that will
reflect any changes to their library operations. Many Regions will refer public
requests for information to the EPA regional public affairs office or program staff.
In addition, EPA will develop an "expert" list to facilitate the referral of inquiries that
require more detailed follow-up at the national or regional level.
• EPA will continue to provide answers to commonly asked questions on the EPA Web
site, and it will work to expand its Agency-wide knowledge base for direct online
access to frequently asked questions (this is an Office of Environmental Information
service known as the "Enterprise Customer Service Solution").
Requests for EPA Reports and Documents
For Headquarters and the Regions whose physical libraries are closing, the public will no longer
be able to walk into the library to find a report or document, but they will continue to be able to
access reports and documents through other means. The following is a description of how EPA
plans to ensure that the public continues to have access to EPA reports and documents.
• Provide documents in electronic format and hardcopy: The public can currently
access over 15,000 documents electronically through the National Environmental
Publications Information System (NEPIS). EPA will expand the National
Environmental Publications Information System (NEPIS) to become the Agency's
electronic archive of published material. See below for details on the plan to expand
NEPIS. In addition, EPA will develop procedures to capture and archive new
Agency documents electronically at the point of content by working with NEPIS, and
cataloging the documents in the Online Library System. The National Center for
Environmental Publications and Information (NCEPI) Warehouse responds to
requests for the hardcopy documents it holds in its inventory of 4,500 titles. To
augment the number of titles available for free distribution to the public in hardcopy,
EPA will also implement Print-on-Demand Service for electronic documents (such as
DocuTech in Cincinnati). This will expedite the printing of documents for those who
request documents in hardcopy.
- Digitization Plan: Agency documents not currently in the EPA National
Environmental Publications Information System (NEPIS) database will be sent to
Cincinnati for digitization into NEPIS. Unique EPA documents from libraries
closing access to their physical space in FY07 will receive first priority for
digitization. The current schedule calls for completion of this first phase of the
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digitization effort by early Calendar Year 2007. EPA documents in libraries that
plan to remain open after FY06 will also be digitized after the materials from
closing libraries are finalized. Documents will be tracked during the digitization
process to ensure their availability to any requester. Specific procedures for
digitizing have been provided to EPA staff.
• Maintain tools to identify and locate documents: EPA will continue to maintain
the Online Library System (OLS) and support the Online Computer Library Center
(OCLC) as tools to identify and locate research reports and other publications.
Through the OLS, the public can locate an information source and work with a local
or university library to request the document via Interlibrary Loan.
• Increase utility of public access tools: EPA will increase the EPA Web site's utility
as a key access point for Agency information by promoting gateways such as the
"Where You Live" link and "Window to My Environment" as paths to regional
information.
Transitioning to the FY 2007 Library Services Model
This section identifies the key activities that will be implemented to ensure a transition to the
new model of providing library services. EPA is working with library service providers in the
EPA Library Network to put agreements in place to ensure continuous library services for EPA
staff and the public. The following describes the steps that the EPA Headquarters and Regional
libraries that are closing their physical library space will need to implement to ensure the
availability of EPA documents.
Implement a Phased Approach to the Closure of Physical Libraries
EPA will implement a phased approach to the dispersion of the physical libraries in the Regions
that choose to downsize or eliminate their collections. EPA is implementing a phased approach
to provide time for Regions to complete the actual dispersion/disposal of their collections. In FY
2006, some Regional libraries may begin dispersion of some of their physical collections. Other
Regions may put their collections into stasis, i.e., neither fully operational nor fully closed, until
funding for dispersion is available. By remaining in stasis temporarily, the collections will still
be accessible to EPA staff and through interlibrary loan to other libraries. To preserve
accessibility, a minimal level of staffing will be necessary to retrieve, reshelve and mail items as
is done in closed stack areas of large university/public libraries. While there may be some
disruption to access to some of the Regional collections during this transition time, EPA will
work to ensure that there is as much access as possible to EPA collections.
At present three of the ten Regions plan on closing access to their physical library space. These
are the libraries in Regions 5, 6, and 7. The Headquarters Library will also close physical access
to its collection, but it will remain functioning as one of the three repository libraries (RTP and
Cincinnati are the other two). Although the four libraries will not be accessible to walk-ins, they
will continue to provide library services such as Interlibrary Loans (ILL) and reference/research
to regional and Headquarters staff through agreements with the RTP and/or the Cincinnati
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libraries. The public will be able to continue accessing the documents previously held by those
closing regional and HQ libraries either electronically from NEPIS or physically via ILL from
the repositories.
Standard Review Procedure for Collection Decisions
The EPA Headquarters and Regional libraries will follow a standard procedure for collection
dispersal decisions. A standard procedure will ensure that Regional collections are dispersed
and/or disposed consistently and that materials that should be kept in the Agency are retained. A
key consideration when deciding what needs to be retained is the presence of important historical
documents. The libraries will follow a standard procedure for reviewing collections and making
determinations on the disposition of these collections. Materials produced by the Agency will be
reviewed by each Region's records management program to ascertain whether the library holds
convenience copies or original records. In all cases, deaccessioning procedures will be followed
to reflect the actual location of materials. Bibliographic records will be updated in OLS for
materials that are transferred or disposed. EPA will work to keep coherent collections together,
such as reports relating to a specific geographic Region or feature. In the event materials or any
other government property are tagged for disposal, libraries will follow the appropriate
procedures for this action. A selection and evaluation procedure is attached to this document.
Due diligence requires that the materials be offered to appropriate libraries, such as other EPA
libraries, the Library of Congress, universities, and state governments, before they can be
disposed.
Standard Procedure for Determining Where Retained Collections Should be Housed
EPA Headquarters and its Regions will carefully review their collections to determine whether
documents should be retained, sent to a repository or to a library that is remaining open. Once
determination is made that specific items or collections should be retained, Regions will choose
from the following possible internal dispersion options:
• Send to one of the designated EPA repositories in RTF, Cincinnati, or Headquarters, or send
to another EPA library in the Library Network. Procedures and scope of repositories is
available at http://intranet.epa.gov/epahqirc/natlibra/repository_procedures.htm
• Offer parts of collections to other libraries in EPA
• Transfer any valuable EPA records to the Regional records management program
For those documents that EPA decides should be dispersed outside of the Agency, EPA will
choose from the following external dispersion options:
• Offer parts or collections to the Library of Congress
• Offer parts of collections to other federal, state and local governments for their libraries
• Offer parts of collections to local research universities for their libraries
If none of the libraries above agree to receive the documents tagged for dispersal libraries may
offer parts of these collections to Regional programs and staff.
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In all cases, deaccessioning procedures must be followed to reflect actual location of materials.
*Any EPA publications of rare, or other distinct value may be provided to OARM in Cincinnati
for inclusion into the digital archive of Agency publications maintained by the National
Publications Internet Site (NEPIS) database. There is no charge for this service and it will help
build a permanent archive of Agency publications for the future.
Conclusion
EPA is committed to providing its employees the library services they need to do their jobs and
the public access to the information needed to make informed decisions. The implementation of
this plan will take time and resources, and EPA is committed to ensuring an efficient transition
into this new model of providing library services.
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Attachment 1: Glossary
A library consists of a number of physical parts. Closing a library can mean a number of things,
depending on which parts are closing. This glossary is intended to provide a common language
for speaking about library closures.
Acquisition - The purchase or receipt of new materials into the physical collection.
Convenience Copy - A convenience copy of a record is, by definition, a non-record with no
evidential value. Convenience copies are often referred to as 'technical reference' because staff
keep them at their desks or in the office and refer to them in the performance of their duties.
Regional libraries often keep convenience copies of reports and other records for this kind of
reference.
Deaccession - The removal of library materials from the physical collection. Deaccessioning
usually occurs when a library weeds out obsolete materials, but also occurs when a library is
closed. During deaccessioning, materials are removed from the library catalog and disposed or
dispersed (transferred to another library) and catalogs are updated to reflect actions taken.
Digitization - The conversion of hard copy documents into digital form.
Disposal - The destruction of library materials, following appropriate procedures for disposal of
government property.
Dispersion - The transfer of library materials to other libraries. A library's physical collection
may be transferred whole or in parts. Materials may be dispersed internally, to other EPA
libraries, or to external libraries, such as those of other federal agencies, state governments, or
universities.
Materials - May include books, journals, reports, multimedia, and other physical objects.
Generally, library materials do not include official records, but convenience copies of records
may be included.
Patrons - Anyone authorized to use the materials and services of the library. May include EPA
staff and contractors and/or the public.
Physical collection - The physical materials that the library provides to patrons, such as books,
journals, reports, and other materials. Aphysical collection may be frozen, which means no new
items are acquired. It may also be disposed or dispersed, meaning destroying or giving away the
materials in the collection. Physical collections may also be digitized so that they may be access
electronically. Digitizing a physical collection raises important considerations for copyright,
cost, and usability.
Public Information Centers - Space where EPA Regions provide local public access to their
documents. This sometimes occurs in the Regional library's reading room, but it can also
happen in a custom space for that purpose, such as a public information center. In some cases
the public may be able to view Agency records at these locations.
Reading room - A space open to patrons, which provides seating and working areas for using
library materials and library services. A library can exist without a reading room, but for
patrons to use its physical materials they must check them out of the library and use them back at
their own desk. A reading room may serve more than just the library. Often reading rooms in
EPA Regions are used as public information centers.
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Records - The documents that provide necessary and sufficient evidence of the operations,
policies, and organization of the Region. The official definition of records is provided below.
Records may be requested by the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and may
be viewed at a local public information center. Convenience copies of records may be
distributed to allow easy reference to the contents of the record. Convenience copies are not
records.
"Records include all books, papers, maps, photographs, machine readable materials, or
other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or
received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection
with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by
that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies,
decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government or because of the
informational value in them." (44 U.S.C. Chapter 33, Sec. 3301).
Services - Any service provided by the library. The most common services are answering
questions and doing research (called reference), providing access to online databases, and
interlibrary loan to retrieve materials from other libraries.
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Attachment 2: Library Collection Dispersion Criteria
Introduction
This document has been prepared to assist the libraries in the Regions and Headquarters that
choose to reduce, disperse or dispose of their library contents.
No two EPA libraries are the same. They differ in size, target audience, subject focus and depth
of collection. The physical collection of an EPA library can contain the following:
• EPA publications in paper, including technical reports, guidance documents, policy
statements, directives, records of decision, test methods. Of particular note are
publications prepared or sponsored by the individual EPA library's parent Office or
Region.
• Journals, primarily scientific, technical and medical, in paper or microform.
• Technical materials published by other federal and state agencies such as geological
survey materials.
• Books that have been commercially printed, including textbooks, reference books,
directories.
• Law books and regulatory materials such as the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations
• Microfiche, particularly microfiche of EPA reports acquired from the National
Technical Information Service at the US Dept. of Commerce
• Maps
• Abstracts and indexes to the literature such as Pollution Abstracts.
• CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, etc.
• Risk Management Plans as part of the Offsite Consequence Analysis (OCA) Reading
Room function (some Regional Libraries)
• Public dockets such as Regional NPL (National Priority List) Public Dockets (some
Regional Libraries)
In addition to their collections, libraries also contain equipment (PCs, microform reader/printers,
fiche duplicators, copiers, etc.) and furniture (bookcases, tables, chairs, desks, modular units).
The responsible disposal/dispersion of an EPA library collection is a major project requiring
planning, time and resources. The process also requires considerable expertise in a number of
areas, particularly library and government property management. 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. Additional information on dispersion of materials is found at
http://intranet.epa.gov/epahqirc/natlibra/documents/library_procedures_digitization_dispersion_0
62906.doc
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General Considerations
EPA organizations that are eliminating or downsizing their physical libraries should abide by
the following:
• Ensure the preservation of EPA's publications (research reports, guidance materials,
policy statements, etc.) by:
1. Maintaining Agency documents that currently exist only in paper until they can be
digitized at EPA Cincinnati and added to the National Environmental Publications
Information System (NEPIS). NEPIS will be the Agency's electronic document
repository.
2. Dispersing unique EPA materials to the designated document repositories at
Headquarters, RTF and Cincinnati.
• Follow all applicable government property rules and regulations.
• Obtain the advice of the Office of General Counsel or the Office of Regional Counsel to
avoid the inadvertent dispersal of documents that support rulemaking or litigation.
• Consult EPA staff experts in different disciplines (biology, toxicology, engineering, etc.)
for valuable input on what materials to keep locally.
• Update cataloging records for both paper and electronic documents in the OCLC (Online
Computer Library Center) database. (Records are downloaded from OCLC to EPA's
Online Library System (OLS). This is particularly important during the library transition
period as materials are physically moved to other locations and electronic documents are
created.
• Discourage the establishment of divisional or branch "mini-libraries."
• Use the Federal Records Centers (FRCs) as appropriate for records storage but not as
document repositories.
• Document requests referred to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at the
US Dept of Commerce does not substitute for the need to preserve EPA materials in-
house as stated above.
Dispersion Criteria
Each EPA library will need to make decisions about the materials in their physical collections.
There are five basic choices:
• Continue to keep items onsite
• Send paper-only EPA documents to NEPIS for digitization
• Send selected items to a designated EPA repository for retention
• Disperse or donate items to other libraries
• Recycle or destroy items
Choices will be largely based on a particular location's capacity to store and maintain a paper
document collection: this capacity will vary significantly. Some locations will continue to
support a full collection, others will downsize to a basic (core) collection and still others will
eliminate their collections entirely. The following criteria are meant to assist those locations that
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are downsizing or eliminating their collections. Consequently, the following "Keep" list is
divided into two parts. Part A describes high-priority items: those locations planning to maintain
either full or basic (core) collections may choose to keep those materials onsite. Part B
discusses material that can be removed from the local site and "kept" by an EPA repository. The
overall goal of both parts is to maintain at least one or two copies of valuable publications within
the Agency—with access via interlibrary loan—until they can be digitized.
Which Publications to "Keep"
Part A: Types of Materials to Consider for Retention Onsite at Full or Core Collections
• Required for litigation purposes.
• Routinely used by local staff. This applies particularly to those titles not available
electronically.
• Paper copies of current journal subscriptions that are being maintained as part of license
agreements.
• Relevant to the parent organization's core mission.
• State or local publications describing environmental conditions within the particular EPA
Region, e.g., state geological surveys. These publications often go out-of-print.
• Up-to-date, of current value. Note: Currency of content cannot be judged by the
publication date alone.
• Regions should consider keeping a set of Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs)
from the current year as well as past years to support compliance/enforcement/legal staff.
CFRs could be kept in an accessible file room in those locations without a library.
• OCA Reading Rooms and public dockets are legally mandated. It will be necessary to
reassign these functions to other EPA organizations.
Part B: Types of Materials to Consider for Dispersion to EPA Repository Libraries
• Unique or rare EPA materials that are not frequently used onsite and are not available
electronically. ("Unique" in this context means only one EPA library owns that
particular title.) Each library received a list of its unique holdings in August, 2005. It is
important that extensive coordination occur so that in cases where several copies of a
document exist at least one of these is kept somewhere within the EPA Library Network.
• Out-of-print publications that are useful and are difficult to borrow or replace.
• Materials that have historical significance (e.g., baseline studies) but are not needed by
EPA staff at the local site.
Which Publications to Donate/Disperse to Non-EPA Libraries
• Materials that duplicate those held in an EPA library (repository) that has agreed to
maintain them permanently.
• Materials that are electronically available on a long-term basis, particularly those
included in NEPIS.
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• Multiple copies unless there is an overriding reason to keep somewhere at EPA
• Any usable publications that cannot be maintained onsite or at an EPA repository library.
• EPA publications, particularly technical reports, that are not currently in the inventory of
the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) can be sent to NTIS. Note that NTIS
usually requires that a completed input form (SF 298) accompany the technical report.
Which Publications to Recycle or Destroy
• Anything published commercially that is outdated (old software books, the 2nd edition of
a title now in its 9l edition, etc.).
• Items in poor physical condition unless 1) content is rare or 2) the item is the last copy in
EPA and is not available elsewhere electronically.
• Items which remain unclaimed when offered to other institutions.
• Microfilm of journals that are available online via open access archives.
Note: It is important to dispose of any library items in an environmentally responsible manner.
Additional research on this topic is underway and the results will be distributed.
Microfiche
Since a large number of EPA reports have never been distributed in paper, most EPA libraries
have a significant collection of EPA reports on microfiche. Some libraries have other fiche
collections as well, e.g., environmental impact statements. Again, availability of the materials in
other formats or at other Agency locations should be considered. If a decision is made to
disperse the fiche collections, they can be donated or sold as units.
Who Will Accept EPA Library Materials?
Institutions that may accept dispersed materials are listed below in order of preference.
• EPA Repository libraries should be given first choice of to-be-dispersed materials for
possible digitization and/or inclusion in the repository collections. More detailed
procedures will be forthcoming.
• Other EPA libraries.
• Other federal government agency libraries.
• State Libraries and state environmental agency libraries.
• Colleges and universities with environmental studies curricula.
• University and public libraries that have collections of government documents. Many
have been designated as federal depository libraries by the US Government Printing
Office. In addition, RTF staff have offered to coordinate EPA's dispersal activities with
the Government Printing Office in order to identify and preserve "fugitive" Agency
documents for public access.
• Listservers are presently being used successfully by EPA libraries to announce
availability of materials. This practice gives libraries on the listservers the chance to
choose and request specific items.
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Transfer of Surplus Library Material to the Library of Congress
(The following information has been taken from the Library of Congress Web site at:
http://wvvw.loc.gov/acQ/fedsur.htmn
Under longstanding policy, Federal libraries are encouraged, pursuant to 36 CFR 701.33(4), to
transfer their surplus library materials to the Library of Congress' Anglo-American Acquisitions
Division. Such transferred materials are needed to fill gaps in the Library's holdings, to use for
exchanges, to transfer to other Federal agencies, and to make available through LC's surplus
book programs to other qualified recipients.
Because of lower staffing levels resulting from budgetary restrictions, LC has narrowed the
scope of surplus materials it can accept from other Federal libraries. LC will accept only
transfers of surplus and duplicate soft or hard-bound books (monographs, monographic series,
annuals, etc.) from Federal agencies and only in the following categories:.
Novels
Reference works (e.g. encyclopedias, directories, guides, such as Encyclopedia of
Associations, The World of Learning, The Statesman's Yearbook, Books in Print, etc.) not
older than three years
And not older than five years in:
Humanities (art, music, belles letters etc.)
History and area studies
Social sciences (economics, politics, etc.)
Education
Science (agriculture, medicine, computer science, mathematics, physics, etc.)
The Library will no longer accept bound and unbound serials. Federal agencies are asked to
dispose of serials in accordance with their regulations governing the disposal of surplus and
duplicate materials.
LC requests notification at the earliest possible time of any government libraries that are
scheduled to close or be substantially reduced. The Library also requests that shipments of 1,000
pounds or more be cleared in advance.
Agencies' cooperation in adjusting to this revised policy is most appreciated.
For more information, or for questions concerning shipments and the usefulness of an
agency's surplus books to the Library of Congress, please contact:
Joseph Mahar
Anglo-American Acquisitions Division (LS/ACQ/ANAD)
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20540-4170
Phone: 202+707-9524 Fax: 202+707-0380
E-mail: imah@loc.gov
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Attachment 3: List of Libraries in the EPA Network
Headquarters and Regional Libraries:
Headquarters Library - Washington, DC
Region 1 Library, Boston
Region 1 RCRA Research Library, Boston
Region 2 Library, New York City
Region 3 Regional Center for Environmental Information, Philadelphia
Region 4 Library, Atlanta
Region 5 Library, Chicago
Region 6 Library, Dallas
Region 7 Information Resource Center, Kansas City
Region 8 Environmental Information Service Center, Denver
Region 8 Technical Library, Denver
Region 9 Environmental Information Center/Library, San Francisco
Region 10 Library, Seattle
EPA Program Office Libraries
Legislative Reference Library
Office of General Counsel Law Library
Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances Chemical Library
National Enforcement Investigations Center Environmental Forensics Library
Environmental Research Center Libraries:
Office of Administrative and Resource Management (OARM) Library in Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina
OARM Library in Cincinnati, OH
Laboratory Libraries
NERL - Atmospheric Sciences Modeling Division Library, RTF, NC
NERL - Environmental Sciences Division Technical Research Center, Las Vegas, NV
NERL - Ecosystem Research Division Library, Athens, GA
NHEERL - Atlantic Ecology Division Library, Narragansett, RI
NHEERL - Gulf Ecology Division Library, Gulf Breeze, FL
NHEERL - Mid-continent Ecology Division Library, Duluth, MN
NHEERL - Western Ecology Division Library, Corvallis, OR
NRMRL - Ground Water and Ecosystems Restoration Division Library, Ada, OK
National Vehicle & Fuel Emissions Laboratory Library, Ann Arbor, MI
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Attachment 4
Additional information on specific topics
Continuation of the EPA Library Network: The OARM RTF and Cincinnati libraries have
agreed to co-lead the Network. They will continue to conduct conference calls used by the
Network libraries staff and managers for information sharing, coordination of cross-library
efforts, and handle other issues. OEI will continue funding the Library Network listserve.
Continued maintenance and update of OLS: OEI will continue to fund OLS in FY2007. OEI
intends to present a proposal to the Working Capital Fund Board to make OLS a WCF service
beginning in FY2008. Management of OLS has been transferred to the RTF Library, and all
services, including support of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), currently available
in OLS, will continue. Procedures developed for the digitization and dispersion processes
include directions to update OLS records to reflect status of documents.
Funding for NEPIS, the library of digitized EPA documents: At present, NEPIS provides
access to over 15,000 EPA documents. The digitization process is proceeding smoothly and has
the funding necessary to continue. The goal is to digitize all unique EPA documents with priority
being given to those documents held by libraries that are closing their physical space, and once
digitized make them available online to all users
Staff access to Interlibrary Loans (ILL) and how to maintain reciprocity in the ILL
process: Regional libraries that are closing will enter into fee-based service agreements with
either the Cincinnati or RTF libraries. A liaison at each affected regional and Headquarters
location will process requests from the local staff. RTF and Cincinnati libraries will request
ILLs for all their patrons (local or at a different location) and will lend in turn to external
requesters, therefore maintaining reciprocity.
Staff access to Reference/Research services: Staff served by libraries which are closing access
to their physical space will be able to obtain reference/research services from the libraries in RTF
or Cincinnati if they are unable to satisfy their needs by accessing the desktop library resources.
Access to professional journals online through Desktop Subscriptions given the reduction
in subscriptions to the paper copies due to budget cuts: A survey has just taken place to
identify current subscriptions across the Agency and regional and programmatic priorities and
plans for next year. This process has informed an ongoing effort to determine where we can gain
greater efficiencies through the leveraging of the subscription purchases and the elimination of
duplicative subscriptions. This survey is also assisting us in determining needed funding for the
Desktop Subscriptions WCF service. The WCF Board has just approved an increase in funding
for the Desktop Subscriptions Service Agreement to ensure continuation, in FY2007, of the same
level of access to online scientific and research journals as at present.
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Training in use of electronic resources: OEI is enhancing an existing set of materials that
provide instructions on the use of the Online Library System and of the Desktop Library/Desktop
Subscriptions. This online training is available at
http://i ntranet.epa. gov/epahqirc/natlibra/training/. Other libraries in the Network have also
developed training and instructional materials on the use of these resources. These materials will
be available across the Network.
Maintenance of the Agency-wide knowledge base for direct online access: The Enterprise
Customer Service Solution consists of a growing database of frequently-asked questions (FAQ)
submitted to several EPA Web sites, including the EPA Home Page. A process is in place to
continuously update that knowledge base with the responses written by experts in the various
subjects.
Provisions in place to enable people with disabilities to access information: All new
electronic and information technology (BIT) products will comply with Section 508
requirements except in situations where exemptions/exclusions to the requirements apply.
Discouraging establishment of divisional or branch mini-libraries: The establishment of
mini-libraries is discouraged because that would limit access to the documents in those mini-
libraries to only those staff who work in that unit and/or have knowledge of their location.
Digitizing those documents and placing them in one of the three EPA repositories would ensure
wide access by EPA staff and the public.
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