Library Closings Cause for Concern

By Shawn Healy

Last month, over lunch at a local watering hole, I was bothered by the revelation that all Environmental Protection Agency libraries would close in the near future, a product of budget cuts and an effort to digitize all agency documents. The news startled me because I read nothing about this development in the mainstream papers. If not for the tireless advocacy of Judith Krug, the 40-year veteran of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association, I would probably still be oblivious to this development.

Moreover, the scant mention of these closings I have since encountered fail to get to the root of the problem. How can we be certain that the EPA will make all of its documents available over the Internet in a timely manner? What if I have difficulty navigating the site and locating the documents I seek? Will telephone operators have the competence of trained librarians? The answers, I speculate, are as follows: "we can't," "tough luck," and "absolutely not."

What if this trend trickles into other domains, jeopardizing public libraries more generally? Academic freedom is the loser in the case of the EPA and other attempts to close these worthy public institutions with talented, helpful librarians. Thankfully, a group of Senators has requested a delay in library closings allowing for public commentary. Let's hope their request is granted, and respond by raising our voices about an issue of universal importance.