Library Services and Incarceration: Recognizing Barriers, Strengthening Access

by Jeanie Austin

As part of our mission to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all library patrons, our profession needs to come to terms with the consequences of mass incarceration, which have saturated the everyday lives of people in the United States and heavily impacts Black, Indigenous, and people of color; LGBTQ people; and people who are in poverty. Jeanie Austin, a librarian with San Francisco Public Library's Jail and Reentry Services program, helms this important contribution to the discourse, providing tools applicable in a variety of settings. This text covers practical information about services in public and academic libraries, and libraries in juvenile detention centers, jails, and prisons, while contextualizing these services for LIS classrooms and interdisciplinary scholars. It powerfully advocates for rethinking the intersections between librarianship and carceral systems, pointing the way towards different possibilities. This clear-eyed text



begins with an overview of the convergence of library and information science and carceral systems within the United States, summarizing histories of information access and control such as book banning, and the ongoing work of incarcerated people and community members to gain more access to materials;
examines the range of carceral institutions and their forms, including juvenile detention, jails, immigration detention centers, adult prisons, and forms of electronic monitoring;
draws from research into the information practices of incarcerated people as well as individual accounts to examine the importance of information access while incarcerated;
shares valuable case studies of various library systems that are currently providing both direct and indirect services, including programming, book clubs, library spaces, roving book carts, and remote reference;
provides guidance on collection development tools and processes;
discusses methods for providing reentry support through library materials and programming, from customized signage and displays to raising public awareness of the realities of policing and incarceration;
gives advice on supporting community groups and providing outreach to transitional housing;
includes tips for building organizational support and getting started, with advice on approaching library management, creating procedures for challenges, ensuring patron privacy, and how to approach partners who are involved with overseeing the functioning of the carceral facility; and
concludes with a set of next steps, recommended reading, and points of reflection.

Genres: Nonfiction, Library Science, Professional Development

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2021

Reviews

[Abe Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in a couple of hours for a research project. This book is dope

[Jen Keyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most recent publishing on this section of librarianship. The information that is given can be implemented in public, academic and special libraries to collaborate with prison libraries. Prison libraries are often an invisible form of librarianship but this book shows their efforts are meaningful and is a valid form of librarianship. Prison librarianship should be discussed in MLIS programs instead hidden until a student shows interest. This book help write a project for my own MLIS program and I believe it to be a valuable source for library advocates to help bring to light the cruel and limited access the incarcerated have, along with suggestions how all librarians can help their prisons around the country. Thank you Jeanie Austin for continuing to bring awareness of this invisible population not just on the inside but when released.

[Alondra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and organized. I would have loved to hear more about the use of library technology in detail, though there was a full chapter dedicated to information access. A strong reference tool for libraries to keep on hand and work through together, particularly if in close proximity to a prison or incarceration center.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas, but sooooooo academic. I'm capable of dealing with academic writing, but I have no patience with it. Learn how to write English. I recommend it to those who care about the subject, but like me you may have to resist the urge to get your red pen and edit out some of the indulgent and precious academese.

[Valerie Brett]

Excellent; will be recommending this book to all my LIS colleagues. Full review forthcoming in IJIDI.