BLOG FOR PRISON LIBRARIANS

Institutional Library Services: Where Positive Change Takes Place comes from the State of Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State. Its mission statement: “with spirit and fortitude, ILS branch staff enhances the quality of life for unique populations by providing a welcoming, neutral and secure place where informational, educational and recreational needs are met.” There is a great post on a typical day in the life of a prison librarian and another about their quarterly conferences where most of the participants are OPLs. Good stuff here.

URL: http://blogs.secstate.wa.gov/ils/

RESOURCES FOR PRISON LIBRARIANS

PRISON-LIB (http://www.neflin.org/prison-lib/FAQ.html), the prison librarians’ listserv?)

Library services to adult prisoners in the United States: a good intro and a well-sourced paper, http://www.ib.hu-berlin.de/%7Elibreas/libreas_neu/ausgabe6/003shir.htm

Three Experts Describe How to be a Successful Prison Librarian: Preparation for a Foreign Land, published by the Association for Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, a division of ALA, Interface 25(3), 2003, http://www.ala.org/ala/ascla/asclapubs/interface/archives/contentlistingby/volume25/successprisonlib/howsuccessful.htm

(From Jessamyn West, librarian.net, 17 October 2006.