Many of you may care that the British government is proposing severe cuts to the British Library, a resource similar to our Library of Congress. (Well, except that the LOC doesn't have the sole copy of Beowulf . . . .) I've gotten a number of urgent requests for messages of support--even international--and petition signing, and am reminded of the dark days when many of us were asking people to sign a certain petition. I'm astonished to see that my signature on this petition is only #926. I hope those of you who care about learning--which at last count included most of the people posting and lurking on this board--will check out the links on the following message from a scholar friend in the UK, sign the petition, and send along the information. There was a time when such action for us made all the difference in the world.

I've left all the information in the message in case anyone in England is reading this.

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The message from my friend:
My apologies in advance if you have already received messages about this.

You have probably already heard that the Treasury is planning savage cuts in the funding for the British Library.

It is obviously important that British Library readers mobilise effectively and fast and I have put together a number of relevant links
in this message. Please circulate this info to anyone you know who might be interested.

Specific threats to the Library's service include charges for users, a reduction in opening hours, a cut of 15% in the permanent collections
and the closing of the National Newspaper Library.

There is a Guardian article summarizing the situation here: http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2000822,00.html

and a piece in the Independent here: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2192972.ece

The British Library is soliciting messages and letters of support here: http://www.bl.uk/spendingreview.html

There is a petition for British citizens and residents on Downing Street's petition site here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/library/

and another petition directed to the Library itself which is open to international users to sign:
http://www.petitiononline.com/britlib/petition.html

It has also been suggested that making use of the 'feedback' form on the website of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would be a good idea
http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/ContactUs/ as well, of course, as writing to M[embers of]P[arliament]s.