Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People Initiative
Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People, based at San Francisco Public Library, is a nationwide project that ensures librarians and information professionals have the resources they need to advocate for, develop, and increase library services for people who are incarcerated or in the process of reentry. The grant work involves identifying existing library services for incarcerated people and building professional networks and resources, with the goal of solidifying library services for people who are or have been incarcerated as a focused area of professional concern.
As part of the grant, the American Library Association (ALA) created and published the 2024 Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained. Ongoing work at ALA involves the distribution and implementation of the Standards, as well as the development of digital literacy programming for people who are formerly incarcerated.
This project is generously funded by the Mellon Foundation.
2024 Edition: Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained
The new Standards heeds the current phenomenon of mass incarceration, the inequitable incarceration rates of BIPOC individuals, and the rising rates of incarceration of women (especially women of color). It pays special attention to the incarceration of LGBTQIA+ individuals, undocumented individuals, and youth, as well as to the information needs of returning individuals.
Where are library services for incarcerated people located, and where are they needed?
(NOTE: This map may not load in Firefox. Please click through to the larger map or use another browser if you are experiencing issues viewing the map.)
If your library provides library services to incarcerated people that aren’t represented on the map, let us know.
Library Services and Incarceration Video Series
This series features information from formerly incarcerated people alongside professionals providing library services for incarcerated people. It covers a range of topics relevant to the field.
ALA provides free-of-charge professional development credit for viewing the videos in this series. ALA eLearning (ala.org user account required).
ALA White Paper on Digital Literacy for People in Reentry
ALA's Office of Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services has released T.E.C.H. for Reentry: Digital Literacy and Public Library Programming for Formerly Incarcerated Community Members. This white paper outlines the development of Technology Education and Computer Help (T.E.C.H.) for Reentry, a digital literacy training program for people returning to their communities after incarceration. The paper offers lessons from four pilot public library sites and best practices for library professionals interested in developing programs for formerly incarcerated people.
If you are interested in receiving a sample lesson plan of T.E.C.H. for Reentry, please reach out to the author at: estelleysj@gmail.com.
Library Services for the Justice Involved
Library Services for the Justice Involved (LSJI) is an interest group for library professionals, students, correctional staff, volunteers, or anyone who serves the underserved in correctional settings (prison, jail, detention centers, state mental health institutes, juvenile facilities) or justice-involved individuals (those in halfway houses, community corrections, sober living, transitional housing, on parole, or the formerly incarcerated).
These efforts build on ALA's historical efforts related to library services for people who are incarcerated.
- 1992 Library Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions
- ASCGLA’s Library Services to the Incarcerated and Detained Interest Group
- 1999 Library Standards for Juvenile Correctional Facilities
- ASCGLA’s Library Services for Youth in Custody
- Libguide created by the Library Services to the Incarcerated or Detained Interest Group
ALA Resolutions and Publications
- White paper - Technology in Carceral Facilities: Trends, Limitations, and Opportunities for Libraries
- White Paper - Trends and Concerns in Library Services for Incarcerated People and People in the Process of Reentry: Publication Review (2020-2022)
- Resolution in Opposition to Charging Prisoners to Read
- Prisoners’ Right to Read: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
- Libraries & Reentry- The Importance of Public Spaces, Technologies, and Community to Formerly Incarcerated Patrons
