The Frontline

The editors of The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Susan Dalgety, have today written to Clare Adamson MSP, convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture committee. (Letter attached).

In light of the National Librarian’s interview on the BBC’s Front Row programme on the evening of the report’s publication (see transcript), where Amina Shah said the book detailed, “violence, aggression, anger that had either happened online or in real life”, the editors have suggested the committee consider asking the National Library of Scotland three questions:

• Has the Board signed off any decisions about what action to take in relation to those staff who the report find behaved in a “threatening and inappropriate“ manner?
• Has the Board established that the planned training on freedom of expression and the Equality Act 2010 will be mandatory, at minimum for all those staff who were involved at any level in the decision to exclude our book?
• What further continuing steps will the Board take to ensure that staff and users of the Library do not experience any form of discrimination or hostile environment at the hands of the staff who disagree with them on any issue?

Also attached is the editors’ Thunderer column, first published in The Tiimes on Thursday 16 October.