Perhaps you all have already read this, but I just found this great Library Journal article detailing public library programs helping to provide literacy services to correctional facilities in the US. It's a refreshing reminder that there are wonderful things happening in correctional education when it sometimes seems institutional barriers prevent such initiatives. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/02/library-services/prison-and-public-libraries/
I'd love to hear about others' positive experiences working with public libraries or outside organizations to bring literacy materials and instruction to inmates. How do we form and foster these meaningful organizational relationships?
Comments
In a number of facilities in Australia we've implemented library management systems (usually Koha or OpenBiblio) to enable closer integration with public libraries and to simplify management of the internal prisoner library. Prisoners are able to see what's available, request books, get automatic reminders when their books are [close to] overdue, and so on.
The service is very popular, both with the correctional management and with the prisoners themselves.
This sounds like a promising model. I know at our facility in Coralville, IA there are several volunteer-led book clubs where the facilitator (usually an AmeriCorps Voluneer or a Research Assistant/Graduate Assistant from the University) bring in books from the library for each club meeting, but there is no official system, nor any organizational cooperation.
I'm loving the Journal of Library Science and the American Library Association list serve lately as there have been many thoughtful and progressive discussions in both. I think there's a lot of potential for collaborations between librarians, specifically prison librarians, and prison educators. It would be great to begin promoting the idea. I wonder if there are any educational funding streams that would help explore implementation of some library/prison classroom partnerships?
Also, the Correctional Ed Association (CEA) has just unveiled a plan to market a 7 inch tablet for use in prison classrooms. the tablet is produced specifically for the corrections environment and is "prison proof" in its design. I believe it's a 32GB model and could potentially hold lots of books, in addition to other education and media content. My project, The WiderNet Project, is providing content for the CEA tablet so I will do my best to provide updates and new information as it becomes available.
The CEA plan would love to hear more about. The "prison proof" 7 inch tablet sounds very promising! With respect to using this type of technology for post-secondary correctional education, this type of technology could mirror what students attending public universities are already doing, using to technology to support their studies. In the correctional environment ( in California), students attending "distance" programming are successfully earning AA degrees using snail mail, delays in correspondence from their instructors due to the "chain of command" service delivery, yet the partnerships between the CDCR and the California Community Colleges who are partnering are seeing relative success as male and female inmates are leaving prison with recognized credentials that postively contribute to remaining out of prison. Very exciting. Would also love to hear more about the WiderNet Project as well.
Luis S. Garcia, MSW
The use of tablets in correctional education is very cool. And Coralville, Iowa, you say?! I graduated from University of Iowa (both undergrad and my teaching certification)! Glad to hear there is a program like the book club going on there. Look forward to hearing more about the WiderNet project, too.