USAIN's Letter of Support for the Animal Welfare Information Center

23 July 2007

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Chairwoman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies
2362A Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Re: Support for the Animal Welfare Information Center

Dear Madam Chairwoman:

We are writing on behalf of USAIN, the United States Agricultural Information Network, to ask for your support for funding for the Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) at the National Agricultural Library. USAIN is an organization of more than 100 agricultural librarians and information specialists, across five countries on three continents and more than 40 U.S. states. We represent land-grant and other universities, government agencies including the National Agricultural Library, and non-profit organizations.

Many of our members work in institutions with researchers and students in veterinary medicine, as well as agriculture and health sciences. The AWIC staff and website support our work by providing training to researchers and librarians, reference service for the public, researchers, and librarians, and access to the resources compiled by AWIC staff in a number of areas. AWIC's expertise covers the care of animals used in research, small, farm, marine, and companion animals. Finding information needed to ensure that animal testing is necessary and properly administered is one of the most essential uses of the site, especially as new regulations and procedures are instituted.

We rely on the staff at AWIC, and we know that our clients appreciate the help they receive. The Animal Welfare Information Center is essential to the work of the public and professionals. AWIC must be fully funded to continue training, reference, and publishing activities. AWIC must continue to provide freely available access to that information on their website.

Thank you for your attention,

Norma Kobzina, President, USAIN
Librarian, Bioscience and Natural Resources Library, U.C. Berkeley

Heather K. Moberly, Past President, USAIN
Associate Professor and Veterinary Medicine Librarian at the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences at the Oklahoma State University

Katie Newman, President-Elect, USAIN
Associate Professor, Biotechnology Information Center, University of Illinois