ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

UK Libraries under Threat

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UK Libraries under Threat

 I was reading the article ‘As book bans soar, a more subtle form of censorship has begun ravaging U.S. libraries’, and it was obvious that American libraries are under attack; however, I then thought about what was happening to the libraries in the United Kingdom- and what I found was that UK Libraries under Threat.

My research indicates that yet again we live in two countries:

a.   England, Scotland and Wales – where an article by Sarah Shaffi in the Guardian (Thu 2 Mar 2023) indicates that spending on British libraries has fallen 17% as i-person visits have soared.

andUK Libraries under Threat

b.   In Northern Ireland, the Guardian reports (Ella Creamer, 22 Sep 2023) that its libraries can no longer afford to buy books, that the library service will operate with reduced hours

UK Libraries under Threat

The Belfast Central Library in Royal Avenue

Whatever way you look at it, it is the ‘working poor’ who are being disenfranchised.  They do not have the access to books, papers, magazines etc. that the upper and middle class do; also the government in the UK advised benefit claimants to make use of the free computers in the libraries to manage their claims – something they cannot do if there are no libraries open!

But, is there also a hidden agenda; if the libraries are starved of resources, isn’t it also going to be minority groups [like the LGBTQ+] who will suffer by not being able to find books, magazines, newspapers, resources to support them?

It is obvious that the current government is one of austerity for the poorer class, but not for the rich!

 

 

Links:

  1.   As book bans soar, a more subtle form of censorship has begun ravaging U.S. libraries
  2. Spending on British libraries falls 17% as in-person visits soar
  3. Northern Ireland libraries can no longer afford to buy books
  4. The State of Our Library

 

LGBT charity launches sex guide for young people

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Paul Cardwell's photo

TFN – 1st December 2015 by Paul Cardwell

Good sex is top pic

​LGBT Youth Scotland wants to teach young men about the pleasure of anal sex as well as how to do it safely

A Scottish charity for young LGBT people has released a guide to anal sex to coincide with World AIDS Day.
LGBT Youth Scotland and NHS Lothian launched the ‘Good Sex Is…’ guide, in a bid to meet the needs of young men who have sex with men.
The guide not only teaches men about the facts of anal sex but also about the pleasure of the practice, which the charity says is often missing from other resources.
 

This is information young people should be told, instead of them trying to find out information from websites which is often wrong – and hardly ever talks about pleasure.

‘Good Sex Is…’ was produced to provide men with nformation on safe sex, and can also be used to help professionals discuss the subject with young people.
Written with direct input from LGBT young people, the guide discusses sex in language young people themselves use, covering aspects of sex that are particularly relevant and vital to them.
Commenting on the initiative, a young person who helped to develop this resource said: “This is information young people should be told, instead of them trying to find out information from websites which is often wrong – and hardly ever talks about pleasure.
“I hope this makes things better for young people and that they also learn about good relationships too!”
Research into sexual health has shown that men who have sex with men are the group most at risk of acquiring HIV in the UK, resulting in a major focus on prevention initiatives targeting this group.
Dona Milne, deputy director for public health at NHS Lothian, added: “Some of the men who took part in a needs assessment survey told us that services must be willing, and be comfortable, to have conversations with men about anal sex and reduce the stigma associated with it.
“We know that younger men (aged under 26), are less likely to engage with services and have distinct HIV prevention needs; some are very sexually active with higher partner numbers and condomless anal sex episodes.
“They need to be engaged in discussion about safe, consensual sex that is pleasurable, and be supported to delay anal sex until they are ready.”
Fergus McMillan, chief executive of LGBT Youth Scotland, said: “We are using World AIDS Day to launch this excellent, accessible and plain-speaking resource about anal sex and pleasure, co-produced by young people, with youth workers and health professionals, which responds to a request from young people for this information.
“We hope that young people and adults who work with them, will use the resource to help address any concerns young people might have, in particular young men who have sex with men.”
Read more at http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/tfn-news/charity-launches-anal-sex-guide#JtFojYwhkobPRbAT.99
 

Current vacancies within the Scottish Transgender Alliance and Equality Network

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We are recruiting for staff and volunteers
The Equality Network is a leading Scottish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights charity. We work to change the law, policy and society of Scotland to deliver full equality for all LGBTI people.
Scottish Transgender Alliance Policy Officer
Full time 35 hours per week, flexible hours
Salary: £23,697 (SJC point 27, AP4.1)
Fixed term post until 31st March 2016 (subject to finalisation of funding) (We also hope to continue the post after that, subject to funding)
Based in Edinburgh
We are looking to recruit a full-time Scottish Transgender Alliance Policy Officer to join our dedicated staff team, to support the development and delivery of the Scottish Transgender Alliance project to improve gender identity and gender reassignment equality, rights and inclusion in Scotland. This post will include developing policy and good practice guidance and informing, equipping and supporting transgender people, equality organisations, government policy makers and other employers and service providers to engage together.
Closing date for applications: 9.00am, Tuesday 3rd March 2015
Interviews will be on Tuesday 17th March 2015
We are an equality organisation. We welcome applications from all communities, and in particular from trans women, non-binary people and minority ethnic people, who are currently under-represented in our staff team. Disabled people who meet the essential requirements of the person specification will be guaranteed an interview.
Download the application pack for this vacancy from:
www.equality-network.org/vacancies or call 0131 467 6039 or email Lynne Davies,lynne@equality-network.org for an application pack or further information.
Equality Network Board members
We are seeking to recruit at least two new members to join our team of volunteer Board members, who oversee the work of our dedicated staff and volunteers, and develop our strategy and vision. We would like one of the new members to take on the role of Treasurer.
The Board meets seven times per year in Edinburgh, usually in the evening. Travel and all other expenses are paid to attend meetings from any part of Scotland.
We are an equality organisation and we very much welcome applications from all communities, and in particular from minority ethnic people, who are currently under-represented on our Board.
More details are available from www.equality-network.org/vacancies or by email from Lynne Davies lynne@equality-network.org or call Tim Hopkins, Director for an informal chat on 0131 467 6039.
Closing date for applications:  Monday 16th March 2015

Yours for equality,
Tim Hopkins
Director

Gay marriage law comes into effect in Scotland

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Douglas Pretsell, from Edinburgh, and Peter Gloster, from Melbourne, formalised their marriage in SydneyDouglas Pretsell and Peter Gloster formalised their marriage in Sydney

Scotland’s new law on same-sex marriages has come into effect.

Existing civil partnerships can now be converted to a marriage and other same-sex couples can give notice of their intention to wed.
The new legislation was used for the first time shortly after midnight when one couple upgraded their civil partnership at the British consulate in Sydney.
The first gay weddings in Scotland will take place on Hogmanay.
Because Australia is 11 hours ahead, Douglas Pretsell, from Edinburgh, and Peter Gloster, from Melbourne, completed the paperwork to formalise their marriage hours before registrars open for business in Scotland.
The couple have been together for seven years and had their civil partnership in August 2010 at Fenton Tower in North Berwick, East Lothian.
‘It’s official’
Mr Pretsell told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “It was kind of coincidental. we weren’t originally intending to be the first at all.
“We sent an email to the consulate asking how long after the weddings came in that we would be able to change our certificate.
“We got an email back from them, asking if we would be able to come in at 11am on the 16th and saying we would probably be one of the first in the world.”

Leanne and Marie Banks signing the documentsLeanne and Marie Banks were one of the first gay couples in Scotland to become married

The couple earlier said: “We always considered our civil partnership to be our marriage, but in the eyes of the law and society it wasn’t held in the same regard.
“Prior to today, same-sex couples were deliberately treated as though our relationships were inferior and not worthy of the same recognition or respect.
“Well, from today it’s official, we are married and we have the certificate to prove it.”
‘Day of celebration’
One of the first gay couples to become married in Scotland were Leanne and Marie Banks.
They were at Dundee Registrars’ office at 08:45 to sign the documents.
A number of other Scots couples, already in civil partnerships, are also planning to make the conversion.
Others wishing to become married must give the normal 15-day notice period, meaning the first weddings can take place on 31 December.
Tom French, from the Equality Network, which ran the campaign for equal marriage in Scotland, said: “Today is both a day of celebration and a hugely important step forward for LGBTI rights in Scotland, both in terms of equality in the law and the way in which same-sex relationships are viewed in society.
“In recent years Scotland has become a leading light on LGBTI equality, with one of the most progressive equal marriage laws in the world, helping to create the fair and equal society we all want to see.”

Holding handsThe first gay weddings in Scotland will take place on 31 December

Colin Macfarlane, director of Stonewall Scotland, said: “Many of the couples celebrating today and in the weeks and months ahead have been together for decades and in a civil partnership since they were introduced in 2005.
“While there is still lots to do before the lived day-to-day experience of many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is truly equal in Scotland, this is a day of celebration and we know these ceremonies will be a wonderful early Christmas present for many couples, their friends and families.’
The law on same-sex marriages has already changed in England and Wales.
The change in Scotland comes as a survey revealed a huge rise in support for same-sex marriage over the past 12 years.
More than two-thirds of people (68%) agreed that gay couples should have the right to marry, according to the figures from the Social Attitudes Survey, which tracks public opinions on a range of subjects.
The figure compares with just two-fifths of the public (41%) in 2002.
The 2014 survey suggested fewer than a fifth (17%) of Scots were against same-sex marriage, compared to 29% in 2002.
Younger people were more likely to believe gay couples should be allowed to wed than older Scots, with 83% of 18 to 24-year-olds in favour compared to 44% of those aged 65 and above.
MSPs approved the Marriage and Civil Partnership Act at Holyrood earlier this year.
The Scottish government said the move was the right thing to do, but Scotland’s two main churches – the Catholic Church and Church of Scotland – are opposed.
The legislation will see religious and belief bodies opting in to perform same-sex marriages, and ministers have stressed that no part of the religious community would be forced to hold such ceremonies in churches
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-30486804