ProfDev 22/07/05

This is a abbreviated post due to network problems at HQ on Friday and the subsequent loss of most of my original posting!

Harry Potter and the stony broke authors
A survey by the Society of Authors has revealed that a third of children's authors earn less than the national minimum wage of GBP8,827 a year.

Adults with learning difficulties
At least one in 10 colleges are reported to be cutting their provision for adults with learning disabilities.
(CILIP Information Services)

UK 'embraces digital technology'
Increasing numbers of people in the UK are moving to digital and broadband technology, according to the latest report from media regulator Ofcom.

New look for BBC's community site
The BBC's iCan website, which helps people get involved in their community, is to have a new look and new name.

Libraries 'risk becoming relics'
The charity for libraries, Libri, has suggested in a report (pdf 737kb) that 'misdirection of funds has transformed libraries into urban village halls where drama groups, creches, and slimming clubs are in the ascendant and books are destined for the skip'.

Author's ally
Despite fears the web would kill the art of reading, it has actually become another weapon in the writer's arsenal.

Public images
Two of America's major photographic houses have launched a joint venture to provide one of the largest freely available archives of pictures on the internet. The collaboration between New York's International Centre of Photography and George Eastman House is expected to include at least 200,000 images by the time it is fully set up next year. (CILIP Information Services)