THE PR ISON LIBR ARY: A VITAL LINK TO EDUCATION , REHABILITATION , AND RECREATION

by Vibeke Lehmann

Abstract

This article has been adapted from a paper presented by the author in Cienfuegos, Cuba, November 1999 at the invitation ofUNEAC (U nion Nacional de Escritores y Aristas Cubano) and the provincial public in Cienfuegos. In cooperation with other programs the prison library plays a critical part in the education and rehabilitation of incarcerated persons. The background, roles, services, and ways in which the modern prison library can meet the needs of both inmates and prison staff are examined in depth. International and national standards exist as tools that cover all aspects of prison library operations. The most vital link in the operation of such is having competent, well-trained, enthusiastic, and patient library staff equipped with the special human skills needed to deal with difficult prison patrons.

Background on Prison Libraries and Their In theUnited States alone there are over one thousand libraries in Patrons correctional facilities () operated by state and federal government authorities, as well as hundreds more library service Incarcerated persons generally have the same reading interests arrangements in local jails and centers. and information needs as individuals in the free world; they can, .Much progress has been made over the last three decades in however, be considered disadvantaged by the mere fact that they both North America and Europe in developing professionally do not have physical access to libraries in the outside community. staffed prison libraries, mainly through the efforts of national Demographic data show that they are further disadvantaged by a library associations, state library agencies, disproportional high level of illiteracy, lack of educational systems/authorities, and academic institutions. The governance attainment, insufficient vocational skills, and a high rate of mental model for prison libraries may take the form of contracted services illness. and emotional instability. This is certainly the case in North between public libraries and/or institutions of higher learning, an America and Western Europe, the geographical areas with which operation managed solely by the prison authority, and possibly this author is most familiar. formal or informal arrangements by volunteer groups. It is not Very little research has been published on the nature and unusual to see a combination of these service methods in a single extent of prison libraries in other parts of the world, so any institution. Regardless of the funding and staffing source, generalizations and conclusions made in this paper pertain who choose to work in prisons face some very special challenges. primarily to the situation in theUnited States, Canada, and Western Before examining the roles and services of the prison library, it Europe. In these countries most prisons provide access to reading may be informative to take a look at the purpose of materials for recreational, educational, and informational today, the size and composition of incarcerated population groups, purposes; many have well-established libraries that function much and the needs the library can fillfor both inmates and prison staff. like regular public libraries or combined public/school libraries.

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Over time, the Western world has seen changes in the One can safely say that incarcerated persons have a large philosophy of what constitutes the nature and purpose of number of unmet needs, which translate into a high demand for incarceration in society. To day there is still considerable difference information, learning materials, and self-improvement resources; among nations on this issue, a fact that is reflected in their the library, in cooperation with other prison programs, can play a widely varying incarceration rates. The pendulum has swung back vital role in meeting these needs. Inmates who want to use their and forth between emphasis on rehabilitation and time constructively are likely to become avid library users. When /retribution. To day most Western nations attempt to time comes to prepare for release, the prison library can provide strike a balance between rehabilitation of the offender and public them with a wealth of job and career related materials as well as safety. Recently the concept of restorative justice (making the community information that may help them survive the first critical offender "whole") has begun to influence prison programs. months on the outside. Rehabilitation, that is, preparing the offender to function Prison Library Standards and Guidelines productively as a law-abiding citizen in society, is very costly. Such programs as academic and vocational education, drug and To day both international and national standards exist as tools alcohol treatment, and psychological and social services usually for the development and management of prison libraries. In 1995, suffer when incarceration rates rise. The United States today has the International Federation of Library Associations and the dubious distinction of having doubled its incarceration rate in Institutions (IFLA) published its second edition of Gu ideli ne s fo r the 1985-95 decade, although overall rates have remained Lib rary Se rv ices to Prisone rs, developed by the Section of virtually unchanged. According to data by the U.S. Department Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons. This document adheres of Justice Statistics, theU.S. incarceration rate is 600 per 100,000, to the philosophical framework of Rule 40 of the United Na tio ns only surpassed by Russia with 690. In contrast, the incarceration Sta nd a rd Mi ni ma l Rules fo r the Treat me nt of Priso ners, which rate in Scandinavia is 62, the Netherlands 65, Germany 85, Spain reads: 105, and Japan 37. With a total prison and jail population today "Every institution shall have a library for the use of all of over 1.5 million, the United States has experienced a major categories of , adequately stocked with both recreational prison construction boom over the last fifteen years. Most of these and instructional books, and the prisoners shall be encouraged to new facilities include a library with general interest materials and make use of it." legal collections. Hundreds of new prison and support The IFLAGuidelines also reference the Charter for the Reader staff positions have been created, but the supply of qualified (1994) by the UNESCO International Book Committee and the candidates has not kept up with demand. International Publishers Association, that argues that reading is a Professional librarians work in both adult and juvenile universal right. The UNESCO Public Library Manifesto (1995) institutions and their patrons range in age from school children to further states that public libraries have an obligation to serve older adults. In theUnited States, the fastest growing inmate group prisoners. is the elderly, primarily due to increasingly longer sentences, less The IFLA Guidelines were developed with the assumption frequent use of parole, and the higher percentage of the that all citizens, including prisoners, are entitled to have access to incarcerated population being violent offenders. Due to information, and that libraries providing this access should be overcrowding, non-violent offenders are more likely to be located within the prison facility. Further that the prison library supervised in less restrictive community settings. The incarceration should be an essential part of the social and cultural environment rate of racial/ethnic minorities is disproportionately high, and the of the prison and that prisoners should be given sufficient time to percentage of non- or limited-English speaking inmates is growing, use it. The prison library should be an integral factor in the primarily Hispanics and Southeast Asians. In some states, the educational, social, and cultural life of the institution and serve to percentage of inmates with drug and alcohol treatment needs is stimulate the intellectual, social and cultural development of the as high as 60 or 70 percent. A large number of inmates (bet�een prisoners. Where the education program is a high priority, library 50 and 60 percent) have not completed high school, and many staff should work jointly with the teachers to integrate library adults and juveniles associate the traditional school system with a resources and materials into the curriculum and to stimulate long string of academic and personal failures. This fact is, of additional independent study. Further, the library should encourage course, related to the offenders' lack of vocational skills and their a climate of intellectual freedom, curiosity, responsibility, creative inability to find and maintain gainful employment in today's inquiry and cultural sensitivity, and should assist prisoners in technology dominated job market. The next logical step in this preparing for re-entry into society. vicious circle is often the commitment of a crime.

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The IFLA Guidelines for Library Services to Prisoners are (a) Popular reading materials center (i.e. circulation of meant to serve as a guide in the development of national guidelines recreational reading materials) in individual countries, where they can be easily modified to (b) Independent learning centers (e.g. assistance in self­ conform to local circumstances. Under these general principles, directed reading for lifelong learning and personal needs, the document addresses all aspects of good library service and information on careers and vocational skills, reference operation, including policies & procedures; staff levels and services, and assistance with correspondence courses) qualifications; ; physical facilities & (c) Formal education support center (i.e. information on equipment; funding; user services; and library promotion. educational opportunities, and materials and services In the United States, the American Library Association (ALA) supporting adult basic education, English for non-native in 1992 published Library Standards fo r Adult Correctional speakers, vocational education, and post secondary Institutions and in 1999 the Library Standards fo r Ju venile education courses) Correctional Fa cilities. Both are tools for the planning, (d) Leisure and recreation activities center (e.g. book implementation, and evaluation of library services and define discussions, film showings, cultural programs, and chess acceptable levels of service. Working groups with broad club) knowledge and experience in the field of professional librarians (e) Legal information center (e.g. legal research tools, case and correctional administrators have developed these documents. materials, legal forms) They cover all aspects of library operation, including the (f) Treatment program support center (e.g. resources to integration of new information technology. Quantitative support substance abuse and anger control programs) recommendations are based on data collected in a national survey (g) Information center on outside community (e.g. re-entry of prison libraries, and both publications include such fundamental information, contact information, social service agency documents as the Library Bill of Rights, the Resolution on referrals) Prisoners Right to Read, and the Freedom to Read Statement. (h) Personal retreat center (i.e. place for patrons to find In Great Britain, the Library Association in 1997 published privacy, quiet, and independent choice) their Guidelinesfo r Prison Libraries. Besides being very specific (i) Staff research center (i.e. resource provider or about service levels, collections, and staffing, this document clearinghouse for work-related materialsand information includes essential policies by the British Prison Service. It also G) School curriculum support center (in juvenile facilities, contains the competencies required for all library staff, as well as provide materials that supplement textbooks and enhance the training modules they must complete. It emphasizes the need classroom activities and study). for a wide variety of materials to meet the needs of persons from many different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Because of limitedcivilian staff,funding, and space, no single These three guidelines and standards documents provide a prison library can perform all these roles. Often the librarian is solid foundation for library associations or government agencies the only professional employed and all support staff are inmate in other countries that are just beginning to plan or establish prison workers. The librarian must manage all aspects of the library libraries. Other helpful publications are Libraries Inside: A operation and is forced to concentrate on services that have the Practical Guide fo r Prison Librarians (1995), which is being used most impact and serve the largest number of patrons. Other factors as a textbook in many library school courses in the USA, and influence the decision of which roles to emphasize. These include Down fo r the Count: A Prison LibraryHand book. the size and security level of the institution, the method of library access (restricted or free movement within the institution), the Th� ModernPrison Library demographics of the inmate population, the length of sentences What are the most important roles of a modern prison library? the inmates are serving, and the range and nature of other activities They are not very different from those of a public library. In and services available, such as treatmentand educationprograms, 1992, Rhea Joyce Rubin developed a library planning model social services, and inmate employment opportunities. specifically for prison libraries that has been used in the states of Whether the selection of primary and secondary roles is the Massachusetts and Wisconsin in the United States. This model result of a thorough needs assessment or simply dictated by evolved from the widely used Planning and Role Setting in Public necessity, the fact is that the majority of prison libraries in the Libraries (1987) and Output Measuresfo r Public Libraries (1987) United States see their primary functions as popular materials by McClure et. al. Rubin's Planning Process fo r Wisconsin center and legal information center. The support role for Institution Libraries: A Wo rkbook (1997) identifies the following independent learning is also very important, as is that of the possible roles for the prison library:

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community information center. Inmates use libraries very heavily The library staffkeeps up with the latest publications through -up to ten times as much as people on the outside. If the library book reviews and publishers' catalogs. They are trained in reader's has a current and well balanced collection, indicators like guidance (steering patrons to a variety of titles by a favorite author circulation per capita and collection turnover rate (average annual or genre). All the libraries participate in the statewide interlibrary circulation per item) can be very high - ten to fifteen times that loan network, since the local collections cannot meet all user needs. of a comparable public library. Obviously, part of the reason is The library as an independent learning center provides the that the inmates constitute a "captive" audience. patron with materials and tools for self-selected and self-directed The library program does not function independently but learning and self-improvement usually referred to as "lifelong operates within the larger prison environment, whose mission and learning". Prisoners have a lot of time to fill, and they can choose security policies often conflict with the library profession's code to use this time constructively: learn a new skill, improve existing of ethics and its belief in free access to information. The prison knowledge and skills, make a contribution to others, or prepare environment is an untraditional and inhospitable territory with themselves for a successful life after release from prison. The priorities that challenge "traditional" librarianship and philosophy. library is often a motivator for such activities, providing the How does one provide information freely in a tightly controlled inmates with materials that meet their interests and help them to environment with rules and regulations governing almost all survive and cope within the prison and on the outside. There are aspects of daily life? How does one encourage library patrons to many prisoners who seek help in developing their artistic and make choices about their reading matter and the pursuit of musical skills, in learning to read for the first time, or in improving individuai interests, when in almost all other aspects of their lives their reading and math skills, mastering a foreign language, writing they have no autonomy? How does one meet the information and and publishing stories and poetry, studying for a driver's license, diverse reading needs of a large multicultural population? Some learning computer skills, taking correspondence courses and answers can be found by looking at what is actually happening participating in various prison volunteer programs. today in libraries behind the walls. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections is a certified During 1997-98, the twenty-seven prison and mental affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA). In many of the institution libraries in Wisconsin, USA, undertook a strategic prisons, the librarians are LVA tutor trainers who train inmates to planning project based on the previously mentioned Pla nning tutor other inmates. The librarians also do the student assessment Processfo r Wi sc o nsinIn stitutio nLibr aries: A Wo rkboo k. As the and the evaluation of the tutors who work one-on-one with a first step for developing an appropriate mission statement, and student. The libraries also provide space and materials for the goals and objectives, the libraries conducted a thorough needs program and accept both English-and non-English speaking assessment which, among other things, identified those activities students (mostly Spanish-speaking). Another library volunteer now performed and associated with the ten possible roles for prison program is the transcription of textbooks to audiotape. Inmates libraries (see above). do the recording and the production of Braille texts. Both of these The library as a popular materials center attempts to build a media are for the use of visually handicapped students in the well-balanced collection of popular current fiction, non-fiction community and those with reading/learning disabilities. These and magazines. The librarians pay close attention to outside trends volunteer programs create much positive publicity for the in the entertainment world, television and movies, sports events, institution and give the inmates a sense of self-esteem and popular music, and other recreational pursuits. They encourage accomplishment. and respond to patron suggestions. Popular genres are mysteries, For those who want to stay in better touch with their children westerns, science fiction, crime & suspense, adventure, poetry, and be better parents, the prisons offer a program called "Fathers romance novels, as well as popular psychology, "how-to" books, Sharing Books." The library collects children's books and the and biographies of sports heroes, movie stars and entertainers. inmates learn techniques for reading aloud to their children and Keeping up with the latest bestsellers is quite expensive, since discussing the content with them. The inmates in the program are many such titles are of marginal interest after initial heavy" use. allowed extra visiting time with their children, and the library Balancing current interest items with a substantial number of supplies the visiting areas with books and educational toys. The proven classics seems a reasonable solution. To stretch the fathers are also allowed to make videotapes of themselves reading often-insufficient budget, most popular titles are obtained in the books and to send the tapes to their children, if the family paperback format; they may later, along with back issue magazines, cannot visit regularly. This program is very successful and has a be placed at the inmates' living units. long waiting list.

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Many prisons that house long-term inmates have both CD-ROM server and multiple computer workstations; the initial academic and vocational education programs. Here the library costs for hardware are high, but the annual upkeep costs have plays an important role as a formal education support center by been reduced. providing class-related materials, extra copies of textbooks, and As mentioned earlier, a large number of adult and juvenile collecting information for research and teacher assignments. These inmates need treatment for drug and alcohol ad

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Some of the prison libraries have also taken on the role of REFERENCES staffresearch center with separate staffcollections on professional Annual statistical reports produced by adult and juvenile · development, career advancement, employment tests, and correctional libraries, Wiscor.sin Department of Corrections, miscellaneous professional materials, including newsletters, USA. journals, training announcements, and research tools for various Boden, Liz, and Collis, Roy, eds. (1997). Gu idelines fo r Prison professions. This role is of secondary importance, since staff, Libraries. London: Library Association Publishing. unlike inmates, has the option of retrieving their information from Galler, Anne M. (1997). The Inclusion of Library Services to outside the prison. Disadvantaged Persons in Library School Curricula, IF LA Conclusion Jo u rnal 23 (516).

It is obvious that a well-established prison library can meet a Kaiser, Frances E., ed., (1995). Gu idelines fo r Library Ser vi ce to Prisoners, 2nd rev. ed. The Hague: IFLA. wide variety of needs and be very influential in the overall prison Library Standards fo r Adult Co rrectional Institutions (1992). operation. It is, however, only as good as the professional library Chicago: American Library Association/ Association of staff makes it. Having a competent, well-educated, and Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies. enthusiastic staff is the key to a successful prison library. This Library Standards fo r Ju ve nile Correctional Fa cilities ( 1999). author has examined the results of a 1995-96 international survey Chicago: American Library Association/ Association of of library schools conducted by IFLA's Section of Libraries Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies. Serving Disadvantaged Persons. The majority of them still do McClure ,Charles R. et al. (1987). Plannin g & Role Settin g fo r not include services to prisoners in courses on how to serve users Public Libraries. Chicago: American Library Association. with special needs; there are only a few countries where prison Rubin, Rhea Joyce. (1997). Th e Plannin g Process fo r Wisconsin librarianship is considered a viable career option. Institution Libr aries . Oakland, CA: Rubin Consulting. One should not conclude, however, that all librarians with Rubin, Rhea Joyce and Suvak, Daniel, eds. (1995). Libraries the appropriate academic training and required professional Inside : A Practical Gu ide fo r Prison Libr arians. Jefferson: experience are going to be successful working in a prison NC: McFarland & Co. community. These individuals must also possess the personal and Van House, Nancy A. et al. (1987). Output Measures fo r Public human skills needed to help difficult patrons with many special Libraries. Chicago: American Library Association. needs; they must have the ability to internalize and work with the Vogel, Brenda. (1995). Down Fo r the Co unt: A Prison Library values of a unique environment that is often filledwith ambiguity. Ha ndbook. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. It is challenging work that requires flexibility, patience, emotional maturity, sound judgement, high tolerance for stress, and a sense of humor. But being able to make a difference in somebody's life is indeed a gratifying reward!

Vibeke Lehmann is Library Services Coordinator, Department of Corrections, P. O. Box 7925 Madison, WI 53707, U.S.A. She is responsible for the administration of 29 libraries in state prisons and mental health facilities. She is the co-author of Library Standards fo r Adult Correctional Institutions (ALA/ASCLA, 1992 ), and a contributor to Libraries Inside : A Practical Ha ndbook fo r Prison Libraries (McFarland Press, 1995). E-mail: Vibeke.Lehmann @doc.state. wi.us

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