EPA Libraries Report to Congress Released

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its EPA National Library Network Report to Congress (PDF, 8 pages), as required by Congress.

According to the EPA National Library Network News web page, "EPA commits to reestablish physical libraries in EPA Regions 5, 6, and 7, as well as the Headquarters and Chemical libraries by September 30, 2008 to complement existing library services."

From the Report to Congress:

With this report, EPA is stating its commitment to providing publicly available libraries in each Region and at EPA Headquarters. The report addresses how EPA libraries will:

• provide on-site library presence in all Regions and at the Headquarters and Chemical libraries for the public and EPA staff,
• continue to provide and enhance access to the Agency’s library collections,
• continue to provide valuable library services for both the public and EPA staff,
• ensure the availability of environmental information to EPA staff and the public, and
• build upon past successes to strengthen the network of EPA’s libraries.

For information on recent congressional hearings on the EPA library system, see our 13 March blog post, EPA Library Closures Hearing - Webcast. The SLA website has history and background information on its Public Policy: EPA Libraries page.

UPDATE: See this 27 March 2008 SLA press release.