Prison Library Advocacy Annotated Bibliography
From digmovements
[edit] Journals
[edit] Advocate, Merribeth. Nelson, Sandra
"Comprehensive Library Services Performed by Correctional Facility Libraries Served by the Mid-Hudson Library System" Webjuntion, Creative Commons: Dec 6, 2007
- This is a short summary of informational, educational, and recreational needs of incarcerated peoples in correctional facilities.
[edit] Andersen, Lynn.
"From the Alternatives Library: Books in Prison". Progressive Librarian. New York: Winter 2002. Iss. 21; pg. 38
and
"From the Alternatives Library: Update on Prison Projects" Progressive Librarian. New York 2005. Iss. 25; pg. 96
- These two articles discuss independent prisoner projects that focus on creating and maintaining enrichment programs for incarcerated persons. By sending books, magazines, and journals to prisoners, they hope tp instill and feeling of hope and selfworth in prisoners that feel forgoteen and marginalized in today's modern prison systems. These articles are very humanistic and an important addition for me to include in the research - the research I'm doing does not only include facts and figures, but also the reasons why these prison projects are trying to maintain themselves.
[edit] Campbell, Diane K.
"The Context of the Information Behavior of Prison Inmates". Progressive Librarian. New York: Winter 2005. Iss. 26; pg. 18
- From the Progressive Librarian Publication, Diane Campbell studies information needs of incarcerated people. This is a much more psychological/ Sociological approach to understanding what materials are necessary for prisoners to have access to by talking about social environment, psychological and emotional stress, and informational needs of prisoners.
[edit] Crimaldi, Laura.
"BOOK 'EM: Inmates Turn New Page in Prison Library." Boston Herald. Boston, Mass. (Jan 6, 2008) pg. 3
- This article is short but concise: it offers a few quotes, facts, and figures from those working in or benefitting from the prison library system, and sheds light on what type of materials are acceptable in a prison library.
[edit] Curry, Dr. Ann.
"Canadian Federal Prison Libraries: A National Survey" School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia
- This document is especially crucial in my analysis of prison library institutions. It includes tables and graphs showing trends in material requests, inmate population, circulation numbers, and library staff qualifications.
[edit] Mantilla, Karla
"Windows to Freedom: Radical Feminism at a Jail Library." Off Our Backs. (Feb 31, 2001) pg. 6
- Karla Mantilla interviews Claudine O'Leary, a worker in a prisoner library in Chicago, about her daily routine at her job. O'Leary offers information regarding programs available to women through the prison library system, and also recounts social relations between incarcerated prisons and prison officers.
[edit] McGrorty, Michael
"Prison Library." Library Juice Vol. 7, Iss. 3 (Feb 5, 2004)
- McGrorty discusses how libraries are contextually constructed to a point, and how culture and environment are usually directly reflected in their materials and resources.
[edit] Palmer, Rick.
"Trying New Things: Bibliotherapy in Prison." Peace Magazine. (July-Sept., 2000) pg. 26
- Rick Palmer explains the North American correctional federal corrections system and it's restructuring between 1970 - 1980, and how Dr. Robert Ross, hired by Corrections Canada to identify possible changes and methods, pushed for bibliotherapy during this restructuring period.
[edit] Philip, Owen Cynthia.
"Imprisoned in America; Prison Communications, 1776 to Attica, 1st Ed.". New York, Harper & Row, 1973.
[edit] Rhodes, J.
"New Life for a Tired System - The Prison Library". Canadian Library Journal 1973 30(3): p 246-249.
[edit] Rubin, Rhea Joyce.
"U.S. Prison Library Services and Their Theoretical Bases." Occasional Papers, The University of Illinois Graduate School of Library Science, No. 110 (1973)
- This research paper explains in depth the theory behind the implementation of bibliotherapy in modern day federal and state run prison systems. It also compares and contrasts federal and state prison system reformation programs, funding, and overall practices over the last hundred years. Bibliotherapy is a key word that has been reoccuring in my research - I've been using this article as a more in depth explanation of what Bibliotherapy means and how it can be implimented.
[edit] Sample, Holbrook
"The Great Escape: In a Maximum-Security Prison, There's a Place Where Shakespeare Gets Stolen, Poets are Kings, and Books Still Matter." City Limits. New York. Vol. 26, Iss 2 (Feb 28, 2001) pp. 18
- A prison library intern describes his adventures in acclimating himself in his new surroundings, having to relearn social norms and expectations. He describes the problems he encountered with the system when prisoners expected prison to double as an educational institution that grants high school diplomas or bachelor's degrees.
[edit] Shethar, A.
"Literacy and "Empowerment"? A Case Study of Literacy behind Bars. Anthropology & Education Quarterly 24(4):357-372.
- This is a case study of literacy in prison libraries, including information on demographics with a discussion of "empowerment" in the Chicano prison culture. This information will assist with the more qualitative aspect of my research by providing facts that will help make a correlation between literacy programs and libraries with prisoner rehabilitation.
[edit] Spector, Herman C.
"A Prison Librarian Looks at Writ-Writing". California Law Review, Vol. 56, No. 2 (Apr., 1968), pp. 365-370
- This journal article discusses problems that are involved in the administrative branch of prison libraries, and challenges they face when making decisions regarding what material to keep, what to accept, duration of loan period to prisoners, what to buy, etc. This article is explanatory of how law materials, the most revered of all books in prison libraries, are used, replaced, mutilated, stolen, and kept track of.
[edit] Vogel, Brenda.
"Making prison libraries visible and accessible." Corrections Today 56.2 (Apr. 1994)
- Brenda Vogal explains the how the architecture and interior design of a prison library are also integral of a functioning library. So much of a prisoner's access to information relies on the space in which they are allowed to move about to look for books. More room means more space available for resources and materials, more room for seating, which means more time for prisoners to use the library, which finally results in deciding the hours of operation. While it explains architecture's role in library success, it also explains how this information has been marginalized, resulting in very miniscule positive change within the prison library system in recent decades.
[edit] Wetherbee, Winthrop
"Cornell at Auburn: An Experiment in Teaching and Learning." Department of English, Cornell University.
- This is an essay of undergraduate student research at Cornell University regarding problems and possibilities in the field of bibliotherapy for incarcerated people. It includes facts and statistics, but also a much more personal account due to the direct work by students at Auburn prison near Cornell University.
[edit] Books
[edit] Coyle, William J.
"Libraries in Prisons: A Blending of Institutions". Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1987.
[edit] Gulker, Virgil.
"Books Behind Bars". Metuchen, N.J., Scarecrow Press, 1973.
[edit] Websites/Blogs
[edit] Dictionary.com
"Bibliotherapy" Dictionary.com. Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc. (accessed: June 02, 2008).
[edit] Radical Reference Blog
[edit] Prison Librarian Blog
[edit] Manage This!
Barbara Kelly's Blog with a list of helpful links regarding Prison Libraries and Librarianship
[edit] Blogs For Librarians Serving People Serving Time
[edit] Online community/ discussion board
for people interested in services for incarcerated people
[edit] Library Juice
Great Blog for librarians, library activists, or people with an interest in interesting things!
