Adult learning, including the work of University of the Third Age, is going to take a massive hit as libraries are axed up and down the country, a U3A dossier reveals.
U3A News, the U3A national magazine, asked its readers to report library closures and the effect this was likely to have. Responses came in from all corners of the country.
U3A chairman Ian Searle says: “The government ought to be encouraging the U3A – it fits all the criteria the Prime Minister outlined yesterday. It requires no state funding; it is entirely self-created and self-directed. It is a real example of people taking their learning into their own hands. Our members ask the state for nothing – they fund it themselves, they teach it themselves, they take all their own decisions. Isn’t that what the Big Society is supposed to be about?
“But we do need a level of infrastructure. We want Britain’s excellent public library service to be available to us, and it is contracting catastrophically.”
A few examples of what readers reported are:
U3A members, and older people generally, will be seriously affected, because many of them rely on public libraries. Among the comments in the dossier are these:
“My wife and I are nearly 80 now, so it will be difficult going the 1.2 miles to the occasional mobile in Liss [if that continues], let alone the 6 miles to Petersfield, or 10 miles to Alton, to the main libraries. And we are fitter than some of the other users.” Alan Orme, Liss Forest.
“Haddenham U3A with 240 members, as a learning organisation, is determined to maintain a visible library service. Apart from the general use by many members, our book and play reading groups rely on the library.” Peter Wenham, secretary, Haddenham U3A.
“I recently joined U3A, and commenced my retirement last summer by starting a campaign to save my local library from closure.” Karen Johnson, Lewisham.
“Our excellent local library is threatened with closure. It will particularly affect both my husband and myself because we are both housebound. At the moment a friend collects books for us. At 90 years old I'm not looking forward to a bookless future.” N.R. Dunn, Oxfordshire.
“For our presentations we have for some years borrowed music CDs from local libraries. These have now been withdrawn and are only available on-line.” Brian Harvey, leader of the Music Appreciation Group, Pembrokeshire U3A .
Campaigns & Issues
Lobby for libraries
The NPC officers have given their backing to a lobby being organised by UNISON, the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI), Voices for the Library, The Library Campaign, Campaign for the Book and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) which will call on politicians to protect vital library services.
News
WRVS response to Health Committee report on social care

WRVS calls for a decisive leap towards joining up health and social care responding to the Health Select Committee inquiry report.
David McCullough, Chief Executive of WRVS said: “Delivering 21st-century health services will hinge on us switching considerable resources into keeping older people in their own homes and breaking the cycle of isolation that faces many people from their seventies onwards.
Competitions & Fun
Win a signed copy of Citizen James on DVD
CARRY ON’S inimitable Sid James is Citizen James in the hilarious 1960s BBC comedy, which finally comes to DVD for the first time. This long-lost classic comedy series makes its DVD debut, featuring the only known surviving episodes, the complete series one, and two episodes each from series two and three. They will be released as a two-disc set on 6 February 2012 courtesy of Acorn Media.
In series one written by Alan Simpson and Ray Galton (Hancock, Steptoe & Son), Sid (Sid James) is a hard-working layabout, gambler and con-artist, hanging out on the streets of Soho with his sidekick Bill (Bill Kerr), in Charlie’s Nosh Bar and occasionally paying a visit to his long-suffering fiancée Liz (Liz Fraser), to borrow money to pay off his gambling debts and cons gone wrong.
Advertorial
February is travel love month with Silver Travel Advisor
WIN £1,000 CRUISE VOUCHERS WITH VIKING RIVER CRUISES AND MANY OTHER PRIZES
Silver Travel Advisor is a friendly website packed with advice, tips, information and honest reviews written by and for silver travellers (aged over 50). A team of advisors are on hand to answer queries (for free), and you can share your own experiences too.
February is Travel Love month at Silver Travel Advisor, and there is a whole range of prizes to be found including the star prize:
Viking River Cruises – win £1,000 cruise vouchers
Health & Wellbeing
Scrap the government's health bill, say BMJ readers
More than 90% of British Medical Journal readers responding to a poll published today think the government's health reforms should be scrapped.
The poll asked: "Should the Health and Social Care Bill for England now be withdrawn?"
Property & Finance
Did you miss the Self Assessment deadline?
If you have missed the deadline for submitting a Self Assessment (SA) tax return and you can show that you should not have been in the SA regime in the first place, then you may be able to avoid any penalties.
Lifestyle
Paula's Wines of the Week starting 6 February 2012

If you really like a certain wine, rather than buying it in single cork-stoppered bottles why not get larger four bottle-sized amounts available in boxes? But if stepping along to the supermarket seems like too much of a chilly effort then try the online winebox retailer InspiredWine.co.uk because they’re offering free delivery during February.
There are advantages to buying wine in a winebox. As the wine is dispensed through a plastic tap all the annoyance of the cork is removed: no more tainted 'corked' wine (this spoils at least one in ten traditionally bottled wines due to improperly sterilised corks) and no more chasing around bits of broken cork that always sink when the index finger sent in to oik them out gets anywhere near them.
Travel & Leisure
£15m boost for sustainable travel
Transport Minister Norman Baker today announced £15m of new funding for sustainable travel projects across the country that will promote economic growth and cut carbon.
The investment is in addition to the £560m Local Sustainable Transport Fund announced in January 2011. This additional funding, heavily geared towards cycling, will support jobs, enhance access to employment and encourage greater use of more environmentally friendly transport.

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