SLA, AALL, and MLA sent a letter on April 4 expressing concerns that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet finalized its strategic plan. According to news recently posted on the EPA Web site, there is now a target date of late June 2011 for final publication of the plan.
The EPA Web site states that work on the Library Network's strategic plan reached a significant milestone in March 2011, when EPA librarians gathered in Washington, DC to review and provide input on the first draft. The efforts built upon work from late 2010, when the Library Network convened a strategic planning workgroup of EPA librarians representing regional, repository and research libraries. The workgroup developed goals and objectives for the plan based on several factors including:
1) Gaps identified in the 2009 Library Needs Assessment
2) Concerns raised by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and
3) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats identified by the EPA library community.
The workgroup's efforts culminated in a draft-strategic plan that EPA librarians discussed extensively during their Annual Meeting, March 15-17, 2011. Once the draft has cleared EPA management review, the Library Network will share it with external stakeholders. The target date for final publication is late June 2011.
It has also been reported that the EPA has made progress in digitization. The National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) digital archive has a current inventory of 48,094 documents (as of April 1 2011). Network libraries continue to process and send materials for digitization according to a prepared schedule. The EPA has a detailed tracking system in place to enable comprehensive oversight and coordination of project progress and costs. The Library Network is currently working on Phase III of the project while finishing the few remaining documents from Phase II. Phase III digitization includes EPA documents (non-unique, more than one existing copy) from the repository libraries in Cincinnati, Research Triangle Park, and at EPA headquarters.
This is good to know. I have met and did an interview with the director of the EPA library in Research Triangle Park regarding the library's services and resources. The digitization which takes place there is remarkable and employees are working hard to make it even better. Rest assure that the EPA libraries are working diligently to provide plans and strategies to benefit communities nationwide.
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