FAY WELDON ATTACKS BRITISH LIBRARY CLOSURES
This story from The Independent on Sunday.
The British Council has been immortalised in a string of novels, including The Third Man by Graham Greene, and The Magus by John Fowles, but is accused of turning its back on Britain's literary heritage over a decision to close a score of libraries worldwide.
The council's staff and authors, including award-winning novelist Fay Weldon, are furious at what they see as a "short-sighted" and "philistine" attitude to literature, after it decided to divert book funding to the internet and other information services.
Council research has found that its target audience between the ages of 18 and 35 is less interested in borrowing books than surfing the internet.
A painful programme of library closures around the world has led to accusations that the council is downgrading reading as a cultural pastime, and starving readers overseas of access to classic and modern British books. Council staff are unhappy at what they see as a "step too far".
No comments:
Post a Comment