Guidelines for Prison Libraries, 2nd ed.

Citation

Lehmann, V. (1998), "Guidelines for Prison Libraries, 2nd ed.", Library Management, Vol. 19 No. 7, pp. 442-443. https://doi.org/10.1108/lm.1998.19.7.442.5

This revised edition of the 1981 Library Association Guidelines for Library Provision in Prison Department Establishments was developed by the Prison Librarians Group in close co‐operation with HM Prison Service. It reflects the many changes since 1981 in the world of libraries and acknowledges the substantial gains and maturity achieved by prison libraries in the intervening years.

The Guidelines are designed to provide a comprehensive and practical source of reference on prison library operations for professional librarians, governors, education co‐ordinators, prison library officers and inmate orderlies involved with the specialised area of prison library service. The recommendations are aimed at HM Prison Service establishments in England and Wales, but are also invaluable for those public library authorities which under a service level agreement (SLA) provide the actual materials, collections and professional services within the prison walls.

This edition reconfirms the philosophy underlying the first edition and contributes the many significant improvements that have taken place in prison libraries since the early 1980s to the guidance and sound principles of that document. Even so, a revised edition was appropriate for various reasons, among others:

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  the sheer volume of information available today ‐ not only in print but also other formats (digital, multimedia, etc.);

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  the wide implementation of automated library systems in both large and small libraries;

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  the heightened emphasis on positive regimens and rehabilitation programmes in prisons, including education and support services for pre‐release planning and employment after incarceration;

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  increased emphasis in the public sector on efficiency and accountability, including quality and performance measures;

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  the rapid growth of the prison population;

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  reorganisation of the Home Office, shifting direct responsibility for prisons to the agency of HM Prison Service;

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  adoption of HM Prison Service Operating Standards (Section U25) that recognises the important role of the prison library;

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  the increased decentralisation of both public library and prison administration;

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  the effects of a major report in 1992 by HM Prison Service, Prison Libraries: Roles and Responsibilities, which called for service level agreements between individual prison governors and the local authority’s librarian; and

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  the availability of financial resources to employ professional librarians in each prison.

This new edition aims to assist in the entire process of needs assessment, planning, resource allocation, implementation and management, and evaluation of services. It is a very useful tool in covering these areas and can be considered a practical “how‐to” manual for the front line staff as well as administrators. Not only is the coverage more comprehensive than the 1981 edition, it also allows more flexibility in the application of the guidelines, taking into account the many variables that exist among prisons, e.g. security level, racial/ethnic make‐up of the prison population, length of sentence, education/work programmes offered, and the size and design of available library space.

The six main chapters address the nature of the service required, the provision of library materials, the promotion of services, the physical facility requirements, and financial resources and management. A helpful summary of key recommendations for each chapter appears at the beginning of the document. The publication contains a short bibliography and 11 extremely useful appendices with the full text of relevant policy documents, lists of required legal and community information titles, position descriptions for library staff, content of staff‐training programmes, detailed space‐planning recommendations, and background documents on funding/service, as well as the definition of responsibility areas between HM Prison Service and the local public library authority.

A completely new chapter deals with the promotion of library services and stresses the importance of marketing services and collections even in a prison community with a “captive” audience. Various techniques are recommended to reach and convince individuals who most likely were not regular library patrons in their “outside” lives that libraries have much useful and relevant information to offer and can be enjoyable retreats from crowded and noisy living quarters.

Another area receiving much attention in the new edition is that of multicultural and multilingual collections, reflecting the real demographics of today’s prison populations and the importance of meeting their information needs.

This reviewer, who in the US was involved with the development of the 1992 Library Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions (ALA/ASCLA), is duly impressed by the thoroughness, practical design, and universal applicability of this new British publication.