Looking Forward to Environment/Libraries Dialogue

[Gary Huggens <ghug@loc.gov>]

I am a librarian/automation support staff person in a cataloging
division at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. I have worked in
various positions at LC over the past 23 years.

The decision to participate in this dialogue actually springs from my volunteer activities and interests in my local community. I live in Adams County, PA near Gettysburg. During the past ten years in my local, rural township I have volunteered with local citizen groups, including the local land conservancy group or have attended hearings on my own to present "green" and slow-growth viewpoints as the township has made decisions on large development projects and zoning ordinances. I am also a part-time student in a landscape design program at The George Washington University, and am interested in how earth-friendly concepts can be integrated into landscape projects.

I believe the Internet provides the best medium for presenting and obtaining environmental information which can have a big impact on local citizens-- information needs to be current and up-to-date, and needs to be available to everyone, as one of the other dialogue participants has already pointed out. The Internet can do these things.

It also means that adequate funding be provided on the Federal and state levels in order to provide the information which the public needs. I worry that budget cuts and other priorities could limit the amount and quality of the environmental information we all need.

One of the big environmental issues in my township is water quality. I believe the EPA and state Web pages are providing some very good, basic information on water quality and the Clean Water Act. But I would like to find more specific information, including permits and maps, and simple, step-by-step procedures on how citizens find to know how to work through the regulatory processes.

I believe libraries can play a role in this process by providing Internet access, instruction to patrons, and publicizing these services. My county land conservancy organization is also using a bibliography of current titles on land development, sprawl and farm preservation, which I assembled, to encourage members to make book donations to the county library.

"Opinions are my own and do not represent the Library of Congress."