April Issue of the Washington E-Bulletin

The April issue of the Washington E-Bulletin is now available on AALLNET. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue, which includes a special message from new Director of Government Relations Julie M. Strandlie.

Here is the Table of Contents:

UPDATES FROM THE HILL AND THE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS OFFICE

• Special Message from Julie M. Strandlie, Director Government Relations
• Please Send Us Your Stories on the Congressional Record
• After Three Years, EPA Announces Release Date for Library Network Strategic Plan
• AALL Urges Public Access to Congressional Research Service Reports
• AALL, MLA and SLA Ask Appropriations Leaders to Save the Statistical Abstract
• Celebrate Law Day — May 1, 2011

OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: CHAPTER NEWS

• National Inventory Working Group Update

FREE TIME WELL SPENT: Further Reading for the Information Policy Junkie

• Law Library of Congress Releases Strategic Plan
• Delays Continue with Publication of Foreign Relations of the United States Series
• Chesapeake Group Finds Slow Growth in Link Rot after Three Years of Steady Increases

AALL, MLA and SLA Request Hearings on EPA Library Network

Today, AALL, the Medical Library Association and the Special Libraries Association sent a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, to urge her to hold additional oversight hearings on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) library network.

AALL has been concerned about EPA’s libraries since we learned in 2006 of the agency’s plans to reorganize its network and close five of its libraries. Thanks to the leadership of Sen. Boxer, who has held several oversight hearings on EPA’s plans, Congress provided EPA with a $1 million order to reopen the libraries in 2008.

A troubling report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in November 2010 found that EPA has still not finished its strategic plan, despite having spent more than three years developing it. In addition, EPA has not yet  determined what documents it will digitize or set target dates for completing the digitization project. Our letter urges Chairwoman Boxer to hold additional oversight hearings to address these findings.