Links of the week March 23 2020 (13)

The Scottish Poetry Library

Library focusing on contemporary poetry written in Scotland in Scots, Gaelic and English. Can borrow free in person, but 50p charge for postal borrowings. www.spl.org.uk

In a February statement pointing to its code of conduct, the library said there had recently been "bullying" and calls for no-platforming-a term meaning barring people from public debate-of some writers following an "escalation, particularly on social media, of disharmony".

Its director Asif Khan told the National that social media "pile ons" against some authors had affected their mental health and incomes. In its statement, the library stressed it would not work with writers who engaged in online abuse. It said: "This does not mean that we are taking sides in any particular debate but we will not be passive if we are made aware of behaviours within our community that do not align with our values."

Malorie Blackman took to Twitter to explain her position this weekend in the wake of some negative reaction to Thursday evening's broadcast of the first of six episodes of a new BBC dramatisation of her 2001 novel for young adults.

Her book examines life in an alternative Britain where black people dominate national life and have most of the money, the imagined legacy of an African colonial powerbase in "Albion".