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Similarly, I don't think the local councillors who are proposing to cut library budgets by as much as 43% are evil geniuses plotting the overthrow of civilisation from their secret lairs under volcanoes. I just think they're a bit stupid, or at least genuinely ignorant of the good that libraries do and the purposes they serve.
Unfortunately, this sort of ignorance isn't confined to politicians. There's a letter in yesterday's Observer about Bookstart (fifth one down, just beneath the one from Shirley Hughes) whose pomposity is matched only by its cluelessness. I do hope the writer looks at the comments on the website. Similarly, there do seem to be a lot of people who honestly don't see the problem with tearing apart the library service on the grounds that we now have computers and X-Boxes and Tesco sells books anyway.
It's been great to see authors, librarians and teachers standing against the barbarian tide that threatens to overwhelm us, but we can't just leave it to those big enough to get their names in the paper. I know I'm in large part preaching to the converted here, but I hope that in 2011 we'll all resolve to get involved. If you haven't done so already, please sign up to Alan Gibbons's Campaign For The Book (contact form at the bottom of the page), and check out the Library Campaign website to find details of things you can do nationally and locally.
Happy new year!
I hope.
*I know that announcements have since been made that Bookstart will not disappear, but as far as I know no specifics have been announced, and no-one's said that government funding will be restored.
John's website is at www.visitingauthor.com
4 comments:
John, hear hear to all that. I had planned to have a rant about That Letter in my next ABBA post but I've probably missed the boat now anyway. Besides, I think a lot of people have made her stupidity clear in the comments on the guardian site. (I couldn't register for some reason.)
I agree - we have to keep shouting.
I'll third that. And I don't mind a bit of shouting too.
Yes, it's been ages since I had a good shout.
Well said, John. I agree with you about the desperation. Since it appears that the government's relentless cutting (or frantic cutting) is likely to increase unemployment, I fear we may find the cure as bad as the disease. But you are right. It's crucial to stand up for what we believe in, while recognising the humanity of our opponents. Aux barricades! (Non-violent ones, of course!)
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