The National Library of Wales is a research institution that I have found invaluable over the years, holding books and back issues of periodicals that I would not otherwise have had access to. It is a treasured archive not just of historical items like The Book of Taliesin and the Black Book of Carmarthen, and for the resources to study them, but also for contemporary concerns such as this forthcoming online workshop to identify links to slavery. After what one participant has described as a “farcical consultation” there is a plan to close one of the two reading rooms and bring in further redundancies among archivists and cataloguers. Although the report setting out these proposals has not been made public, those who have seen it are appalled. Users of the Library such as myself have inevitably been out of direct contact with the institution during lockdowns but have been looking forward to the day when using its facilities will again be possible. It seems that the valuable cultural services provided are bound to be undermined by the proposed cuts and a petition has been established to be considered by the Welsh Senate.
Anyone wishing to support this petition can do so HERE.
That's bad news. It might be expected in a smaller library but not the National Library of Wales. I have signed the petition.
ReplyDelete