Prelims

Half Title Page

EXPLORING THE ROLES AND PRACTICES OF LIBRARIES IN PRISONS

Series Page

ADVANCES IN LIBRARIANSHIP

Editors

Paul T. Jaeger, University of Maryland, Series Editor

Bharat Mehra, The University of Alabama, Series Editor

Editorial Board

Denise E. Agosto, Drexel University

Wade Bishop, University of Tennessee Knoxville

John Buschman, Seton Hall University

Michelle Caswell, University of California Los Angeles

Ursula Gorham, University of Maryland

Sandra Hughes-Hassell, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

R. David Lankes, University of South Carolina

Don Latham, Florida State University

Jerome Offord, Lincoln University of Missouri

Ricardo L. Punzalan, University of Maryland

Brian Wentz, Shippensburg University

Lynn Westbrook, University of Texas

Title Page

ADVANCES IN LIBRARIANSHIP VOLUME 49

EXPLORING THE ROLES AND PRACTICES OF LIBRARIES IN PRISONS: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

EDITED BY

JANE GARNER

Charles Sturt University, Australia

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2021

Editorial Matter and Selection © 2021 Jane Garner. Published under exclusive licence. Individual Chapters © 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80043-861-3 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80043-860-6 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80043-862-0 (Epub)

ISSN: 0065-2830 (Series)

Contents

About the Contributors

Jill Anderson lives in Omaha, Nebraska, United States and works for the Omaha Public Library as a Library Specialist. She also works remotely for the Queens (NY) Public Library as the Data Coordinator for the Outreach and Community Engagement team and as the Project Manager for the Library’s Immediate Access: Technology Reentry program. She received her Master’s in Library Studies from Queens College, part of the City University of New York system. She believes public libraries are uniquely situated to be effective community spaces because of their history as free and open and their focus on independent learning, with library support.

Jeanie Austin earned their PhD in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Their research interests and activities include the provision of library services to people in juvenile detentions, jails and prisons. They primarily examine the complex political and social systems that surround this work. They are interested in the incorporation of critical praxis in LIS and in the evaluation of technology’s roles in carceral institutions and policing practices.

Meri Bajić is a School Librarian at Tehnička škola Požega, Croatia, who previously worked in a public library. She obtained her MA in Information Science from University of Osijek, Croatia in 2015. Her research interests include information behaviour and library and information services to the undeserved and underprivileged comunities like prisoners and students with dyslexia. Also, she is interested in Library and Web 2.0. She was nominated for ISI 2015 Gerhard Lustig Award for the best Master thesis in Information Science for her research about information needs and reading interests of prisoners. She can be reached at meri.bajic@skole.hr.

Padma Bandaranayake serves as the Director of National Library of Sri Lanka with over 25 years of working experience as a professional librarian. She has obtained her B.Sc. (Special) Degree in Agriculture from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and she has obtained Master of Arts in Information from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. She serves as the convener of the Committee on Prison Library Services of the Sri Lanka Library Association and compiled the Guidelines for Prison Libraries in Sri Lanka Prisons in local languages: Sinhala and Tamil. And also, she serves as a member of IFLA Working Group on Prison Libraries. At present, she is reading for PhD at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo. Her research is on Effectiveness of Prison Rehabilitation Programmes on Recidivism in Sri Lanka. She has authored several articles in the field of Library and Information Science while serving as a visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Library & Information Institute attached to the University of Colombo. She is a Fellow of Sri Lanka Library Association.

Renée Barnes happened upon the field of correctional librarianship in 2005 while searching for a job. She began working as a Library Technician in a correctional facility and hasn’t considered working with any other population since. Since 2005, she has facilitated book groups, created summer and winter reading programs, and taught Spanish and cognitive behavior change classes in addition to providing other library services at three different correctional facilities. These opportunities to serve and impact those who may not have seen the library as relevant to their lives fueled her desire to pursue a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science and a promotion to Librarian. She began working as an Institutional Libraries Senior Consultant in March 2013 and was promoted to Institutional Library Development Supervisor in January 2021. She wants to leave the world a better place than when she found it and believes her work with institutional libraries allows her to do just that.

Jessica Bates is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Senior Lecturer and experienced researcher in the School of Education, Ulster University, where she is Course Director for the Library and Information Management programme and undertakes research across education and library and information science. She is currently engaged in research relating to citizenship education and young people in Northern Ireland, and Community Conversation research which enables individuals and communities to have a voice in important decisions that affect their lives.

Erin Boyington began working in correctional libraries in 2013 after receiving her MLIS from the University of Washington’s iSchool. She started her career as a Library Tech in the Colorado Department of Corrections, providing library services and innovative programming to Sterling Correctional Facility, the largest state prison in Colorado. In 2016, she joined the Institutional Library Development Unit of the Colorado State Library. She has served as a Co-leader for the American Library Association’s Library Services to the Justice-Involved (LSJI) interest group; a juror for the Stonewall Book Awards; a juror for Pop Culture Classroom’s Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards; and as a Member of the RUSA CODES 2022 Reading List Council. She contributed her story of witnessing censorship in prisons to Intellectual Freedom Stories from a Shifting Landscape (ALA, 2020). Her passion is removing barriers and helping connect people to new ideas and resources that allow them to achieve their personal goals.

Steven Buchanan is a Professor of Human Information Behaviour within the Division of Communications, Media and Culture, University of Stirling. His work examines how and why people seek information (or not), and effective channels and sources of information, and influencing factors. He explores complex access and internalised behavioural factors, the former influenced by technology and literacy issues, the latter by social structures and norms. Much of his work is with disadvantaged groups.

Bobbie Bushman, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Emporia State University. She has published research about library services to children with disabilities, deaf and hard of hearing patrons, homeschoolers and underserved populations. In addition to research, she speaks at library conferences across the United States about how librarians can better serve their underserved patron populations.

Cheryl Canning is a joint PhD student at the University of Strathclyde and University of Stirling. She is a Professionally Qualified Librarian who has worked in three prison libraries in Scotland; responsibilities including general circulation duties, reference services, collection and reader development and facilitating cultural activities (e.g. reading groups and author visits). Funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, her PhD research provides insight into the information needs of prisoners, and appropriate methods of support.

Kim McNeil Capers is the Director of Community Engagement and Outreach at the Queens Public Library. She oversees correctional services, mobile library outreach, hip hop programs and special outreach initiates. In 2018, she received the Advocacy Award from The Third National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) and in 2017 was Library Journal’s Mover & Shaker recipient known as the human bridge of connectivity. Aside from being an outreach expert, she is the Admission and Career Service Advisor for Public libraries at the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College CUNY. As a Leader and Educator, she is passionate about community and promoting librarianship.

Jayne Finlay is a Research Assistant in the UNESCO Centre at Ulster University. She is interested in research relating to universal access to quality education and library services, having recently completed a doctorate which examined prisoners’ engagement with library services and informal learning opportunities. She is an Associate Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and works as a Teaching Assistant on the Library and Information Management Programme at Ulster University. Her previous professional background is in the area of Academic Librarianship.

Jane Garner is a Lecturer and Researcher with the School of Information Studies at Charles Sturt University, Australia. Her research interests include the role of libraries, books and reading in the lives of underserved and disadvantaged communities, including people living in prisons and people experiencing homelessness. She is a Member of the International Federation of Library Associations’ Section on Library Services to People with Special Needs. Her doctoral thesis examined the lived experiences of prison library users.

Emilie J. Hancock is a Technology Librarian at Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) and the Founder of Books Unbound, an Independent Literacy Program for teens who are incarcerated. She is a Founding Member of both CCPL’s Prison Outreach Task Force and the Accessibility Team. Her primary interest is to establish libraries in South Carolina jails, and for them to one day become so ubiquitous as to almost be taken for granted. She received her MLIS, BA in Anthropology and BA in English from the University of South Carolina. To collaborate or for inquiries, please send emails to hancocke@ccpl.org or letters to 68 Calhoun Street, Charleston, South Carolina, 29401.

Tina Malén Hansen has a Bachelor degree in library science, and has worked for six years in the two prison libraries she runs, in the Horten and Bastøy prisons. In 2016, she won a prize for her library work, and in 2020 she won a national prize for her work as a Leader in her field.

Martina Dragija Ivanović is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Science, University of Zadar, Croatia. Her research interest includes public libraries (their social impact and role in rural areas, reading and research methods in LIS. She previously worked as a Librarian in Public Library Zadar as a Coordinator for the development of library network in Zadar County. She is the Recipient of the Ljerka Markić Čučuković Award (1999) and the Croatian Librarians’ Association (CLA) award Eva Verona (2008).

Emily Jacobson has worked in jail libraries for the past 10 years. She has focussed on patron-centered collection development, as well as issues around information access for people in jail and prison. Her writing is also included in Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis (2018).

Iona Johnson works for Libraries Tasmania as a Literacy Co-ordinator running a literacy program in Risdon Prison, Tasmania. In this work, she brings together her training in fine arts and adult education and her experience in working with people experiencing disadvantage. She has strong sense of social justice and the need for advocacy to work towards inclusion in the wider community. The arts and storytelling can be a vehicle for enabling the voices of disenfranchised people to be valued and heard. In the prison literacy program, she is exploring the connections between prison education and literacy work, focussing on practices that support transformative learning and rehabilitation.

Damien Linnane was sentenced to two years imprisonment in late 2015, with a non-parole period of 10 months. The sentencing magistrate described his crimes as “vigilante action.” Since his release from prison he has completed a Master of Information Studies, and now works primarily as an Archivist. He is the Author of the crime novel Scarred, which was written by hand while he was in prison, and also works as an Illustrator.

Sarah McCall is a Masters’ student in library and information management at Emporia State University who is passionate about censorship and library services to incarcerated individuals.

Dale Monobe, PhD, has taught Rehabilitation Counseling (as well as Practiced Rehabilitation Counseling) and Library Science on the graduate level and is currently the Utah MLS Regional Director in the School of Library and Information Management at Emporia State University. He not only has an interest in underserved patrons at academic libraries, but also in accessible games and gamification, and in humanistic lifelong learning.

Nili Ness is the Correctional Services Librarian for Queens Public Library. Her work includes providing Library Services at local jail facilities and community outreach. She is a Strong Proponent of the Prisoners’ Right to Read and is the recipient of the 2020 ASGCLA Exceptional Service Award.

Gerhard Peschers holds university degrees in theology and library science. Since 1992, he has worked as librarian in Germany in the North Rhine-Westphalia Prison Service, where he is currently responsible for 30 libraries in 19 adult and 3 juvenile correctional facilities. Since 2003 until 2019, he has also been directly responsible for the daily operation of the library at the Münster Correctional Facility. Since 1996, he has been spokesperson for the Prison Library Workgroup, a unit of Section 8 of the German Library Association. Since 2006, he has been the Chairman of the Prison Library Support Group, which he also founded. From 2016 to 2019, he acted as a Corresponding Member of the IFLA Section on Library Services to People with Special Needs (LSN). Since 2009, he has been an Active Member of the IFLA Working Group on Library Services to People with Special Needs (LSN) with a focus on updating the international guidelines for prison libraries.

Jennifer Elaine Steele is an Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at The University of Southern Mississippi, located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She received her Master of Library and Information Studies degree in 2013, followed by her PhD in Communication and Information Sciences in 2017, both from The University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her research focusses on intellectual freedom, censorship and information access.

Sanjica Faletar Tanacković is a Professor at the Department of Information Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS), University of Osijek, Croatia. She obtained her PhD in Information Science (2009) from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. Her research interests include library services to the underserved and marginalized (prisoners, people with Alzheimer Disease, people with dyslexia, etc.) and their information behaviour, library and information science education and library architecture. She is the recepient of the Ljerka Markić Čučuković Award, awarded to the best LIS student at University of Zagreb (2000), the Croatian Librarians’ Association (CLA) award Eva Verona which is presented to young librarians for their outstanding dedication to work, innovative practice and promotion of library profession (2006), and FFHS Excellence in Research Award (2021).

List of Contributors