Prison Library Primer: A Program for the Twenty-First Century

In this century the central and quintessential correctional facility program ought to be the library. While the U.S. prison industry has embraced a massive reentry movement emphasizing literacy and job readiness for former felons, prison libraries have been ignored as potential sources for reintegration. In The Prison Library Primer: A Program for the Twenty-First Century, Brenda Vogel addresses the unique challenges facing the prison librarian. This practical guide to operating and promoting a correctional library focuses on the basic priorities: collection development; location, space planning, and furnishing suggestions; information on court decisions and legislation affecting prisoners' rights. This volume also includes an information-skills training curriculum, sample administration policies, essential digital and print sources, and community support resources. Equipped with practical library science tools and creative solutions, The Prison Library Primer is an invaluable resource that will help the librarian and library advocate develop, grow, and maintain an effective, user-centered library program.

Brenda Vogel spent 26 years as the Coordinator of Maryland Correctional Education Libraries. An outspoken advocate for prison library services, Vogel was named Library Journal's Librarian of the Year in 1989. She is the author of Down for the Count: A Prison Library Handbook (Scarecrow, 1995).