	Background

The EPA library network was established in 1971 to provide staff and the  public with access to environmental information in support of EPA’s  mission to protect human health and the environment. Furthermore, some of these libraries have  digitized, dispersed, or disposed of their materials. As part of the library reorganization, each library in the network that was  planning to close access to walk-in services independently decided which  materials would be retained at their library or be selected for digitization,  dispersal to EPA or non-EPA libraries, or disposal. EPA Did Not Effectively Justify Its Decision to Reorganize Its Library Network

EPA reorganized its library network primarily to save costs by creating a  more coordinated library network and increasing the electronic delivery of  library services. According to EPA officials,  EPA decided to reorganize its libraries without fully completing the  recommended analyses in order to reduce its fiscal year 2007 funding for  the OEI headquarters and regional office libraries by $2 million. By not completing a full assessment of its library resources and not  conducting a benefit-cost analysis of various approaches to reorganizing  the network, EPA did not justify the reorganization actions in a way that  fully considered and ensured adequate support for the mission of the  library network, the continuity of services provided to EPA staff and the  public, the availability of EPA materials to a wider audience, and the  potential cost savings. EPA Did Not Fully Inform or Solicit Views from the Full Range of Stakeholders on the Reorganization but Is Now Increasing Its Outreach Efforts

Communicating with and soliciting views from staff and other  stakeholders are key components of successful mergers and  transformations. As a result, EPA libraries varied  considerably in the information they provided to staff on library changes. In addition, EPA generally  did not communicate with and solicit views from external stakeholders  before and during the reorganization because it was moving quickly to  make changes in response to proposed funding cuts. EPA Lacks a Strategy to Ensure Continuity of Library Services and Does Not Know Whether Its Actions Have Impaired Access to Environmental Information

EPA does not yet have a strategy to ensure that library services will  continue and does not know the full effect of the reorganization on library  services. While EPA’s library plan describes the reorganization effort as a “phased  approach,” it does not provide specific goals, timelines, or feedback  mechanisms so that the agency can measure performance and monitor  user needs to ensure a successful reorganization while maintaining quality  services. Several changes that EPA made to its library network may have impaired  the continued delivery of library materials and services. EPA Program Offices Are Responsible for Funding Their Libraries and Their Reorganization Through Their Support Budgets

The program offices responsible for the EPA libraries in the network  generally decide how much of their available funding to allocate to their  libraries out of larger accounts that support multiple activities. For fiscal year 2007, OEI management decided to reduce  funding for the OEI headquarters and regional office libraries by $2  million, from $2.6 million in enacted funding for fiscal year 2006—a 77- percent reduction for these libraries and a 28-percent reduction in total  library funding. The $2 million reduction for the libraries was included in the  President’s fiscal year 2007 budget proposal for EPA. According  to EPA, OEI restored $500,000 to the library budget in fiscal year 2007 to  support reorganization activities. However, EPA did not  allocate funds specifically to help the closing libraries manage their  collections. As a result, the program or  regional office responsible for the library used its usual library funding  available at the end of fiscal year 2006 to pay for closing costs.
Why GAO Did This Study

Established in 1971, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) library network provides access to critical environmental information that the agency needs to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment. The library network also provides information and services to the public. In fiscal year 2006, the network included 26 libraries across headquarters, regional offices, research centers, and laboratories. These libraries were independently operated by several different EPA program offices, depending on the nature of the libraries' collections. In 2006, facing proposed budget cuts, EPA issued a plan to reorganize the network beginning in fiscal year 2007. The plan proposed a phased approach to closing libraries and dispersing, disposing of, and digitizing library materials. GAO was asked to summarize the findings in its report being released today, Environmental Protection: EPA Needs to Ensure That Best Practices and Procedures Are Followed When Making Further Changes to Its Library Network (GAO-08-304). GAO made four recommendations in this report aimed at best practices and procedures that EPA should follow when continuing to reorganize its library network. The agency agreed with the recommendations.

What GAO Found

Since 2006, EPA has implemented its library reorganization plan and has closed physical access to the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) headquarters library and three regional office libraries. In the same period, six other libraries in the network independently changed their operations. Some of these libraries digitized, dispersed, or disposed of their materials before EPA had drafted a common set of agencywide library procedures for doing so. Until these procedures are completed, EPA plans no further changes to the library network. EPA reorganized its library network primarily to generate cost savings through a more coordinated library network and more electronic delivery of services. However, GAO found that EPA did not effectively justify its reorganization decision. According to EPA officials, OEI decided to reorganize its libraries without fully completing the recommended analyses in order to reduce its fiscal year 2007 funding in response to the President's fiscal year 2007 budget proposal. EPA did not systematically inform the full range of stakeholders on the final configuration of the library network. In addition, EPA libraries varied considerably in the extent to which they communicated with and solicited views from staff, external stakeholders, and experts before and during the reorganization effort. EPA is currently reaching out to stakeholders, including EPA staff and library experts, by holding and attending stakeholder meetings and conferences. EPA does not yet have an effective strategy to ensure the continuity of library services following the reorganization and does not know the full effect of the reorganization on library services. EPA's library plan describes the reorganization effort as a "phased approach," but it does not provide specific goals, timelines, or feedback mechanisms that allow the agency to measure performance and monitor user needs to ensure a successful reorganization while maintaining quality services. EPA did not follow key practices for a successful transformation, even though the agency made several changes to the library network that could have impaired the continued delivery of library materials and services to its staff and the public. The several different program offices responsible for the EPA libraries in the network each generally decide how much of their available funding to allocate to their libraries and how to fund their reorganization. However, when faced with a proposed budget reduction of $2 million in fiscal year 2007, rather than following its normal procedures, OEI directed the regional and headquarters offices to reduce funding for OEI libraries--a reduction of 77 percent for these libraries from the previous fiscal year. EPA did not allocate funds to help closing libraries manage their collections; instead, the responsible program or regional office used its annual funding to pay for these costs.