91´«Ã½

Resolution on Protecting the Toxics Release Inventory Program

WHEREAS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program has been in existence since the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) was enacted in 1986; and

WHEREAS, Congress enacted the Pollution Prevention Act in 1990, requiring additional data on waste management and source reduction activities be reported under TRI; and

WHEREAS, the TRI is widely acknowledged to be among the most efficient and successful EPA programs, resulting in significant reductions in pollution; and

WHEREAS, the EPA has notified Congress of its intent to reduce the TRI reporting requirement for covered facilities from annual to biannually; and

WHEREAS, the EPA has initiated a rulemaking proposal to raise the reporting thresholds from 500 to 5000 pounds; and

WHEREAS, raising the reporting threshold would allow facilities to release ten times as many toxins into the environment without the reporting currently required; and

WHEREAS, raising the reporting threshold would cause almost 4,000 facilities to disappear entirely from the inventory, leaving no available information on their current toxic releases; and

WHEREAS, raising the reporting threshold would leave at least 922 communities nationwide and 10 percent of all postal zip code areas with no numerical data on local emissions; and

WHEREAS, public disclosure has proven to be a strong incentive for covered facilities to reduce their emissions of toxic chemicals; and

WHEREAS, federal depository libraries nationwide were among the first locations where the public could locate and receive assistance in using Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data that is critical for protecting the health and safety of their families and communities; and

WHEREAS, for 130 years, the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) has promoted the ability of the public to access information important to their daily lives; now therefore be it

RESOLVED that the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) oppose the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to reduce the frequency and threshold requirements for Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ urge Congress to reaffirm the original intent in the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) to make information, including the off-site consequence analysis information, publicly available on a timely basis; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ urge Congress to direct the EPA to maintain the current TRI reporting thresholds and frequency.

Endorsed in principle by COL Government Information Subcommittee 01/23/2006

Endorsed in principle by the GODORT Legislation Committee 01/23/2006

Endorsed in principle by the GODORT 01/23/2006

Endorsed in principle by IFC January 24, 2006

Adopted by COL, January 23, 2006

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Resolution on the Changes to the IRS Tax Forms Outlet Program

WHEREAS, for 130 years the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) has promoted the ability of the public to access information important to their daily lives; and

WHEREAS, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tax Forms Outlet Program (TFOP) has been providing the public with free, tangible copies of tax forms, instructions and publications for over twenty years; and

WHEREAS, federal depository and other libraries nationwide serve as convenient outlets for these publications; and

WHEREAS, libraries providing free, tangible copies of these publications offer a valuable service to the public, especially those who have limited or no access to the Internet; and

WHEREAS, the IRS recognized the importance of libraries in offering federal tax forms in a public “thank you” during National Library Week 2000; and

WHEREAS, recent changes in the TFOP were done with little or no consultation with TFOP partners; and

WHEREAS, these changes have resulted in a reduction in the range of free, tangible publications available and the number and type of libraries that may participate; and

WHEREAS, the impact of these changes in the program has, in some cases, imposed undue burdens and costs on libraries and the public in obtaining access and use of the publications; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) work with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to reconfigure the Tax Forms Outlet Program to meet the needs of the participating libraries and the public they serve.

Endorsed in principle by COL Government Information Subcommittee 01/23/2006 Endorsed in principle by the GODORT Legislation Committee 01/23/2006 Endorsed in principle by the GODORT 01/23/2006 Endorsed in principle by IFC January 24, 2006 Adopted by COL, January 23, 2006

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AALL RESOLUTION ON NO-FEE FDLP ACCESS TO PACER

Whereas, The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) makes available for a fee electronic access to federal court information through its Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service that allows paying customers to obtain case and docket information from most Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and from the U.S. Party/Case Index; and,

Whereas, The AOUSC has greatly increased court participation in its Case Management/Electronic Case Files program, thereby enhancing the value and utility of PACER to members of the public interested in legal research; and,

Whereas, The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is required under 44 U.S.C. § 1902 to make available through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) “Government publications, except those determined by their issuing components to be required for official use only or for strictly administrative or operational purposes which have no public interest or educational value and publications classified for reasons of national security” from all three branches of government; and,

Whereas, The GPO recognizes the importance of their providing additional new services for depository libraries as incentives to keep them in the FDLP and, in addition, to provide the American public with enhanced access to government information and better services in their October 2005 “Progress Report 2: The Carrot Crop Is Still Growing” (available at: ); and,

Whereas, The first proposed incentive listed in “Progress Report 2” is to: “Provide depository libraries with access to fee-based government information database services and other government information products so-called cooperative publications which must necessarily be sold in order to be self-sustaining under 44 U.S.C. § 1903; and,

Whereas, Depository libraries today have no-fee access to several agency fee-based government information databases, such as STAT-USA, USA Trade Online and the National Climatic Data Center Online Document Library, and the “Progress Report 2” notes that it would be appropriate for GPO to negotiate access to fee-based databases on behalf of the FDLP; and,

Whereas, Providing PACER to users of depository libraries at no-fee will increase greatly access by the public to important federal court information and strengthen the collaboration between GPO, the federal courts, depository libraries and the public which is the very essence of the FDLP partnership; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the U.S. Government Printing Office should negotiate with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to make the PACER system available at no cost to users of federal depository libraries; and be it further

Resolved, That this resolution be forwarded to appropriate members of Congress, including the Joint Committee on Printing, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and the Depository Library Council.

Endorsed by the AALL Executive Board, April 1, 2006 Endorsed in principle by the GODORT Legislation Committee, 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by COL-Government Information Subcommittee, 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by GODORT Membership, 06/26/2006

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RESOLUTION ON EPA LIBRARIES

WHEREAS, for more than 30 years, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its network of libraries have provided reliable, accurate information about sensitive environmental issues that affect the health and safety of our families and communities; and

WHEREAS, these EPA libraries have provided access to vital information to researchers and to scientists, including EPA researchers investigating environmental issues that impact our Nation; and

WHEREAS, the EPA Headquarters libraries and the 27 regional and laboratory libraries are staffed with experienced, professional librarians who facilitate access to information, fielding 134,000 research requests from EPA scientists and enforcement staff and others in the last year; and

WHEREAS, the EPA Libraries house and catalog unique collections, including approximately 50,000 primary source documents not available elsewhere in any format, on vital environmental issues; and

WHEREAS, the EPA Libraries serve as institutional repositories for internal documentation as well as commercially published literature about the topics agencies regulate, investigate, and research; and

WHEREAS, the EPA Libraries operate public reading rooms, providing access to collections that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of constituents in their geographic region, at times specifically offering that access to comply with federal law; and

WHEREAS, in 2003 the Business Case for Information Services: EPA’s Regional Libraries and Centers prepared by Stratus Consulting for the EPA concluded that, “calculated conservatively, the benefit-to-cost ratio for EPA library services ranges between 2:1 and 5.7:1”; and

WHEREAS, the Draft EPA FY 2007 Library Plan: National Framework (June 1, 2006) , including the current proposal to move materials to the web, does not ensure satisfactorily that the public, researchers, scientists and policymakers will have continued access to the staff, services, and high quality, accurate information found in the EPA Libraries; and

WHEREAS, the proposed FY 2007 budget for EPA Libraries contains a $2.5 Million cut which:

• has already resulted in the closure and imminent closure of some headquarters, regional and laboratory libraries and the reduction of staff at other EPA Libraries;
• will put the collections and services of the EPA Libraries at risk, causing essential information about the environment to be lost;
• would compromise the public’s health and safety by making it difficult, even impossible, for the EPA staff and scientists, other scientists and researchers, the public, contractors and regulated industries, and federal, state, and local policymakers to find accurate and high-quality information upon which to base decisions about health and safety concerns; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) urge Congress to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reprogram $2.5 Million of the EPA FY 2007 budget to fund EPA Libraries; and be it further

RESOLVED, that 91´«Ã½ urge the EPA to restore funding to the EPA regional and laboratory libraries; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ urge the EPA to develop a responsible information and collections management strategy, and make it available for public comment, to ensure continued access for the public and other stakeholders to the collections and services of the EPA Libraries.

Endorsed in principle by GODORT Legislation Committee 06/26/2006

Endorsed in principle by FAFLRT 06/24/06

Endorsed by COL-Government Information Subcommittee 06/26/2006

Endorsed by GODORT Membership, 06/26/2006

91´«Ã½ CD#20.8

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RESOLUTION ON SAVING FEDERAL LIBRARIES

WHEREAS, federal libraries are essential in supporting government staff to develop informed policies, write regulations, take legal action against law breakers, and educate the public; and

WHEREAS, these libraries have unique, historic and irreplaceable collections that are critical to achieving their agencies’ missions; and

WHEREAS, tax dollars have been spent to establish and maintain federal libraries and some agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Department of Energy, are dismantling these valuable libraries;

WHEREAS, federal staff will be hampered in carrying out their responsibilities without the support of knowledgeable and skilled federal librarians who possess specialized subject expertise; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) urges Congress to affirm that the federal libraries are inherently governmental and the position of librarian is essential; and be it further

RESOLVED, that 91´«Ã½ urges the United States Congress to hold oversight hearings investigating the ongoing destruction of federal libraries before they are lost beyond recovery; and be it further

RESOLVED, that 91´«Ã½ urges Congress to adequately fund federal libraries so that they will be able to employ federal librarians with subject expertise to provide research services.

Endorsed in principle by GODORT Legislation Committee 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by FAFLRT 06/24/2006 Endorsed in principle by ACRL 6/27/06 Endorsed in principle by COL-Government Information Subcommittee 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by GODORT Membership 06/26/2006 91´«Ã½ CD#20.10

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RESOLUTION ON THE FEDERAL RESEARCH PUBLIC ACCESS ACT OF 2006 (FRPAA)

WHEREAS, government information and government-sponsored research are public resources collected at public expense; and,

WHEREAS, access to information collected, produced, and sponsored by the government is essential to maintaining an informed citizenry; and

WHEREAS, the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) has a long record of action in support of access to information, and believes that open government is vital to a democracy and that there should be equal, ready, and equitable access to information collected, compiled, produced, sponsored, and disseminated by the government of the United States; and

WHEREAS, The federal government invests $55 billion annually in scientific research, with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) portion accounting for one-third of that, resulting in over 65,000 journal articles published annually; and

WHEREAS, this information is not readily accessible to the general public; and

WHEREAS, Senators John Cornyn and Joseph Lieberman have introduced S. 2695, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006 (FRPAA), which requires Federal agencies to develop public access policies relating to research conducted by employees of that agency or from funds administered by that agency; and

WHEREAS, FRPAA would also require federal agencies with extramural research expenditures of more than $100 million to make electronic manuscripts of peer-reviewed journal articles resulting from their funded research publicly available via the Internet within six months of publication; and

WHEREAS, FRPAA would also require agencies to produce “an online bibliography of all research papers that are publicly accessible under the policy, with each entry linking to the corresponding free online full text;” now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) supports S. 2695, the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006, as introduced, in that it reflects 91´«Ã½ policy regarding access to Federal government information by providing for the long-term preservation of, and no fee public access to, government-sponsored, published research findings.

Endorsed in principle by GODORT Legislation Committee 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by COL-Government Information Subcommittee 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by COL-Intellectual Property Subcommittee 06/24/2006 Endorsed in principle by GODORT Membership 06/26/2006 91´«Ã½ CD#20.9

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RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR PATRICE MCDERMOTT

WHEREAS, Ms. Patrice McDermott has served the members of the 91´«Ã½’s (91´«Ã½) as the Deputy Director of the Office of Government Relations since 2001; and

WHEREAS, Patrice has been a committed advocate for open access to federal government information and the public’s right to know; and

WHEREAS, Patrice has been a diligent proponent for privacy issues, including the protection of library records; and

WHEREAS, Patrice has been a leader in 91´«Ã½’s efforts pertaining to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the U.S.A. PATRIOT ACT, and E-Government; and

WHEREAS, Patrice has been a leader in the display of fashionable hats during conferences; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) congratulates Patrice in her new position as director of OpenTheGovernment.org; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ membership look forward to collaborating with Patrice on issues of mutual interest; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ membership extends its sincere appreciation for Patrice’s tireless efforts on behalf of the Association and library users around the world and wish her continued success.

Endorsed in principle by GODORT Legislation Committee 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by COL-Government Information Subcommittee 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by GODORT Membership 06/26/2006 91´«Ã½ CD#20.14

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RESOLUTION CONCERNING ADVOCACY FOR FEDERAL LIBRARY AND INFORMATION PROGRAMS

WHEREAS, many libraries, scholars, and the public around the world depend upon the cataloging, authority files and subject headings produced by the Library of Congress, the Superintendent of Documents/Government Printing Office, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Agricultural Library (NAL) and other federal libraries; and

WHEREAS, librarians, researchers, government decision makers, and the public depend upon the unique collections of the Library of Congress, other national libraries, executive branch libraries, the Supreme Court Library, the Senate and House Libraries, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and other information and data centers; and

WHEREAS, librarians, researchers, government decision makers, and the public depend upon federal electronic publishing, dissemination, data collection, cataloging, indexing, and access services, such as GPO Access, Library of Congress’s Thomas, NLM’s PubMed, NAL’s AGRICOLA, the NTIS Database, the ERIC Database, the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), the Defense Technical Information Service, Department of Energy report databases, and federal libraries; and

WHEREAS, some federal libraries have already been closed, others are under threat of closure by the end of this fiscal year, others are having their staff, budget and space greatly reduced, and

WHEREAS, some federal librarians (contract and federal employee) are resigning in advance of the threatened closures resulting in loss of corporate memory and research expertise; and

WHEREAS, the responsibilities of the 91´«Ã½ Washington Office include monitoring federal library data and information programs, consulting with the staff of these libraries and centers, organizing coalitions to defend these programs, working with the appropriate congressional committees to educate them about the importance of these programs, lobbying for sufficient funding, and to work with 91´«Ã½ membership to develop a plan to save federal libraries, data and information centers; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the 91´«Ã½ make support for federal library and information programs a priority; and be it further

RESOLVED, that 91´«Ã½ Council call upon the 91´«Ã½ Executive Director to work with the 91´«Ã½ Washington Office Executive Director to devise the means by which this policy priority will be implemented.

Endorsed in Principle by COL/GIS 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by GODORT Legislation Committee 06/26/2006 Endorsed in principle by FAFLRT 06/24/06 Endorsed in principle by GODORT Membership 06/26/2006

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REQUEST THAT 91´«Ã½ FORM AN AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON FEDERAL LIBRARIES

91´«Ã½ GODORT (Government Documents Round Table) and the 91´«Ã½ Committee on Legislation Government Information Subcommittee (COL/GIS) request that, in consultation with the Chairs of FAFLRT, GODORT, COL/GIS, the President of 91´«Ã½ immediately appoint an Ad Hoc Committee with membership drawn from GODORT, COL/GIS, FAFLRT, ALCTS, SRRT and other 91´«Ã½ units to gather information to more fully assess the situation of federal libraries. The focus of the ad hoc committee should include, but not be limited to:

• gathering information about federal library closures
• gathering information about federal library funding
• gathering information about the services of federal libraries
• gathering information on the types and numbers of federal library staff
• gathering information on reduction of staffing, space and services
• communicating with organizations that represent federal library workers
• recommend steps that 91´«Ã½ can take to improve the status of federal libraries and librarians

The ad hoc committee should provide an interim report at the 2007 91´«Ã½ Midwinter Meeting and a final report at the 2007 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference.

06/26/2006

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