MLA backs adult learners

The Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is launching a £100,000 grants fund to encourage museums and libraries to open up their facilities to adult learners.
Grants of up to £5,000 will be given to organisations which make available meeting rooms or collections to self-organised groups of learners. The MLA will also establish a new Adult Learners Board, co-chaired by MLA chief executive Roy Clare, to oversee the development of a framework for informal adult learning by March 2010.
The moves are part of the MLA’s contribution to the Government’s White Paper on informal adult learning which takes place outside formal courses in colleges and other education institutions. Secretary of State at the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham, said: “Museums, libraries and archives have inspired and supported generations of learners. Open to everybody they play a vital role in widening access to lifelong learning opportunities in every community.”