Tim Reiterman has a good article about imperiled federal libraries, and their collections…some of which are already ending up in dumpsters.

I think we are living in a world of digitized information…In the end there will be better access.

(Linda Travers of the EPA)

Which makes me wonder what “end” she is talking about. I think there is a real danger as more and more information goes online that people simply assume that paper collections are no longer necessary.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the libraries that are currently in danger the most belong to the Environmental Protection Agency, whose library budget is being slashed by 80 percent. These collections and others that are in danger (like NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center) have collections that support research into global warming.

If you are interested in learning more and what you can do about it ALA has a useful resource page that allows you to contact your representative using a service similar to EFF’s action center.