I think our librarian world isn't very well known and we don't seem to catch a lot of attention of the world. Thank you every day for encouraging this. I didn't think there would be much interest and there are almost 250 people now.
This is fascinating. I'm very interested in prison reform and prison culture. If you read the biographies of many of the famous civil rights figures of the 20th century, many of them became radicalized by reading Mao, Marx, Franz Fanon, and more traditional political philosophers that they found in the prison library. I had a theory at one point that if the FBI really wanted to stop the radicalization of civil rights advocates, they'd eliminate prison libraries. Mercifully that didn't happen.
One thing I learned is that Malcom X had especially good access due to the state library's efforts. Prison librarianship is a field that has its own working groups. Prisons are so different from state to state. I recently wrote a foreword for new book on prison libraries. Library Services and Incarceration: Recognizing Barriers, Strengthening Access. https://www.alastore.ala.org/lsai
I was doing some volunteer work at the women's prison in Denver, and I chatted with the librarian there. She said the biggest PITA for her was that she was supposed to keep the inmates from having physical contact, but of course they're all in relationships with each other, so they hold hands or sling an arm around the each other. She really disliked having to spend so much time telling the women to break it up.
It's more difficult than people imagine. There is an ideal of library use that really doesn't exists outside of prison anyway..so some training in the prisons side is needed..but there is a fairly good resource page here from the Librarians: https://libguides.ala.org/PrisonLibraries
Another fascinating story. I wish prison libraries got more publicity. Is develping literacy and/or English language taching a part of their mandate?
I don't think so. It varies by jurisdiction though. Federal prisons are different than state are different than jail.
You never fail to amaze
I think our librarian world isn't very well known and we don't seem to catch a lot of attention of the world. Thank you every day for encouraging this. I didn't think there would be much interest and there are almost 250 people now.
When do you write about the LAB Library of the Asteroid belt?
I will put that Coe College on the list!
This is fascinating. I'm very interested in prison reform and prison culture. If you read the biographies of many of the famous civil rights figures of the 20th century, many of them became radicalized by reading Mao, Marx, Franz Fanon, and more traditional political philosophers that they found in the prison library. I had a theory at one point that if the FBI really wanted to stop the radicalization of civil rights advocates, they'd eliminate prison libraries. Mercifully that didn't happen.
One thing I learned is that Malcom X had especially good access due to the state library's efforts. Prison librarianship is a field that has its own working groups. Prisons are so different from state to state. I recently wrote a foreword for new book on prison libraries. Library Services and Incarceration: Recognizing Barriers, Strengthening Access. https://www.alastore.ala.org/lsai
Oh, I should check that out!
I was doing some volunteer work at the women's prison in Denver, and I chatted with the librarian there. She said the biggest PITA for her was that she was supposed to keep the inmates from having physical contact, but of course they're all in relationships with each other, so they hold hands or sling an arm around the each other. She really disliked having to spend so much time telling the women to break it up.
It's more difficult than people imagine. There is an ideal of library use that really doesn't exists outside of prison anyway..so some training in the prisons side is needed..but there is a fairly good resource page here from the Librarians: https://libguides.ala.org/PrisonLibraries