Data Lost in Rush to Close Libraries

Data Lost in Rush to Close Libraries: Facing massive budget cuts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2006 decided to close some of its physical research libraries and make the data available online instead. However, in its haste to do so, the EPA may have lost some files, according to government auditors. Testifying before the House Science and Technology Committee’s Investigations and Oversight Committee, Government Accountability Office (GAO) auditors said the EPAs push to digitize its libraries led to hasty closings, which lawmakers criticized.