Literacy news

Library campaigners welcome Ed Vaizey

17 May 2010

Library campaigners have said the appointment of Ed Vaizey as Culture Minister at the end of last week "will be widely welcomed", as he had been "very effective" during his time as shadow minister.

In particular, it is hoped that Vaizey will support the creation of the Library Development Agency.

Library campaigner Desmond Clarke, who is also a former director of publishing firm Faber & Faber, said:

"Vaizey has spent considerable time understanding the issues in the library sector, hosted a seminar to discuss the problems and has attended various conferences.

"He has expressed his concern about the lack of leadership and failure of advocacy, and has called for a library development agency, a proposal that was also supported by the All Party Parliamentary Library Group. That Group also expressed its concerns about the ‘woeful lack of leadership’ in the sector."

Clarke added:

 "Given that we face severe cuts in public services... the library service is going to need powerful advocacy and strong leadership to preserve an effective service to the benefit of those who rely upon and use public libraries. That will only be achieved if we can get everyone on the same page and focus on the needs of users."

Read more at The Bookseller

Tags: Libraries

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