Reader’s Advisory Behind Bars
“When the prison
gates slam behind an inmate, he does not lose his human quality; his mind does
not become closed to ideas; his intellect does not cease to feed on a free and
open interchange of opinions; his yearning for self-respect does not end; nor
is his quest for self-realization concluded. If anything, he needs for identity
and self-respect are more compelling in the dehumanizing prison environment,”—Thurgood
Marshal, Supreme court Justice.[1]
Librarians
working in jails or prisons are tasked with a unique situation. They must meet
the needs of their patrons, but keep the safety and security of the specialized
population in mind. Providing library services
such as reader’s advisory can be tricky when many correctional facilities
openly ban books. In this case of direct censorship librarians must work with inmate
patrons to find alternative books that will adequately fit their needs. By
looking at the reader’s advisory strategy of a jail librarian, one can get a
sense of how to subvert the censorship while still maintaining security. This
paper with examine the issue of censorship in jails and prison and how librarians
cope.
Librarians are
the defenders of intellectual freedoms; they strive to end censorship and work
to meet the informational and entertainment need of their library patrons. Jail
librarianship is an entirely different beast, some of the same theories and
practices of public libraries are used in jail librarianship, but the most
striking difference is the overt censorships that exist. This creates a hurdle that many librarians
must overcome. When the practice of reader’s advisory is placed it in the jail
setting, a librarian must use every available resource to find books that will
satisfy the user and maintain the security of the facility. By examining the
rules of the facility, the inmate’s needs, and reader’s advisory strategy one
can gain a better understanding of how to meet the patron’s needs when working
with oblivious disadvantages.
Correctional
staffs, including librarians, are responsible for the well being of the inmates
in their care, “we make sure that they are safe, well cared for, have the basic
necessity, are fed, have a place to sleep, get to court on time, we are their
nurses, their counselors, and we take their safety seriously,” Said one
correctional officer at an Indiana Jail[2].
This heightened security only adds to the problem of censorship. Safety of the
inmates and correctional staff is often the reason why books are censored and
banned at jails. Books that encourage civil disobedience or teach manipulation
such as The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The 48 Laws of Power, Art of Seduction,
and The 33 Strategies’ of War all by
Robert Greene are the most banned books at correctional facilities. Jail officials worry that such readings could
cause a riot or encourage disobedience.
Books are banned for other reasons as well. Books that talk about or
glorify gangs, street life, selling narcotics, or graphic violence are not
allowed in most facilities. Books that inspire or encourage racial prejudices
or racial violence are not allowed. Books are even banned by the images they
have on their covers. For example, if an inmate is reading a fictional book
about Nazi during World War II and on the cover is a swastika. This book cover
could spark a fight or racial riot because of the heated image on the cover.
Images do have power and just the hint on Nazism in a design can cause the book
to be banned. Jail and prisons have a high population of white supremacist
gangs. Another inmate could see him reading this book and believe him to be in
a white supremacist gang member and start a fight. Most circumstances books are banned for
legitimate reasons; however, this doesn’t make the job any easier for
librarians.
What is a librarian to do, how librarians manage to provide
reader’s advisory when what an inmate patron wants to read is banned? There are
a few strategies to employ when this situation is encountered. An article
written by Catherine Sheldrick Ross, Professor and Acting Dean at University of
Western Ontario, states that “the challenge is to help match a reader to the
right book at the right time…to recommend a good book, librarians must know
more about why and how patrons read.”[3]
Ross recommends a couple tactics to use when trying to connect patrons with
books. Number one, responding to the reading experience wanted. Asking the
reader what type of reading experience they want should help guide the
librarian. Are they looking for an entirely different experience than they have
read before or something old and familiar? Number, two respond to the need for
sources for about new books. Librarians should subscribe to list servs, pay
attention to book clubs, library association list and just remain current to
what is trending now in the book world, and Third respond to the elements of a
book. Many readers connect to characters, or settings, or events. Finding out
what elements of a book that the readers like can be beneficial. Finding
out why the inmate reads a certain type or genre will help in finding the book
that they want. If they are looking for urban fiction which could be banned
then understanding why the read that type of book can point the librarian in an
alternative direction. Knowing the appeal factors of the books that they seek
will also help. The best way to discover what the patron is looking for is to
conduct a good reader’s advisory interview. Conducting a good interview
is a lot easier if you know the patron’s background.
To better
understand your patron’s one must first look at the inmate library patron
demographics. Author Shelia Clark of Library Services to the Incarcerated
discusses the people who occupy our nation’s jails and prisons in her book, “The most reliable common denominator
for all prisoners is a history of poverty (Sullivan 2000). Other distinguishing
features of prison populations include a predominate number of people who grew
up in single-parent households, people of nonwhite ethnicity, and a
disproportionate number of people with learning disabilities and reading
difficulties.[4]” Getting
a feel for your patron’s difficulties or disabilities can help you during a
reader’s advisory interview because you will be better equipped to match the
patron with a book that they will be able to read and enjoy. For example,
knowing the inmate can only read a third grade level eliminates a lot of books
that you may have offered them before knowing about their limitations. Whereas,
before you may have suggested a Stephen King novel now you might try an early
chapter book.
After
understand the abilities and needs that a patron has a librarian should utilize
certain tactics. One tactic is to conduct a good reference or reader’s advisory
interview. Find out what they want to read and why they like to read it.
One jail librarian in Indiana gives her take on the type of books that are
frequently requested. "The most requested books are Street Lit books or
urban fiction particular by the Author Teri Woods," states a county jail
librarian who wishes to remain anonymous.[5]
Ms. Jones was interviewed and she shared her thoughts about the facility that
she works and conducting a reader's advisory interview. For the purpose
of this paper she will be referred to as Ms. Jones. Ms. Jones describes the
facility that she works as a county jail in a major metropolitan area. "We
are a male offender, pre trail facility. Our inmates are low to medium
offenders which means that their crimes are not major offenses like murder, but
we do have inmates on drug dealing, robbery, rape, battery, and DUI charges to
name a few. The jail can house 1200 inmates and is right now at capacity."
Ms. Jones
goes on to discuss the most popular books, “I have found that the most sought
after books by our patrons are the ones that they relate to. For the young guys
it is Terri Woods, for the old guys it might be Louis L'amour or Clive Clusser.
The jail house lawyers love to read John Grisham or David Baldacci, which helps
them, builds legal strategy. Murder mysteries are very popular and are hard to
keep on the shelves. When an inmate requests such a book I ask him, ‘what is it
that you like about the book? Is it the characters? Is it the setting? Do you
like the action, pacing, violence? What books have you read that remind you of
the books? Are you open to trying new authors and types or genes?’ This last
question is the most important in my opinion because; I use the tactic of what
I like to call bait and switch. The library in which I work doesn’t purchase
leisure reading material for the inmates the entire collection is donated. This
requires me to work with what I have and make do when the patron wants a
specific book by an author."
Ms. Jones
strategy is called active strategy and is examined in a chapter of a book by Catherine
Sheldrick Ross. Ross’s book The Reader’s Advisory
Interview explores how to conduct the reader’s advisory interview. Ross
discussed some of the same strategy that Jones uses but includes using passive
strategies to enhance the effect of reader’s advisory. Passive strategies are
defined in the chapter as using spine labels on books, creating annotated booklist,
grouping together books in a genre, or creating displays. The strategy is only passive
in the sense that they librarian does not have direct contact with the
patron. “This behind-the-scenes work
sets the stage for the reader’s advisory interview…you need to create a climate
that encourages readers to talk about books and authors,” declares Ross. [6]
Working in
a jail library can be hard and difficult work. Librarians in correctional
settings are asked to do things that they would never consider in a public
library. Librarians must pat down inmates when they leave the library and we
must keep a watchful eye. Librarians must be alert; one to make sure the inmate
is not stealing or destroying the materials and resources in the library, and
two to make sure that the inmates do not cause fights or pass contraband to
another inmate. Along with maintaining safety and security librarians must live
with the constant censorship of books and ideas. They must work around a
limited budgets and find alternative solutions to difficult problems. Discussing
how to combat these difficulties, one can come to the conclusion that reader’s advisory
in jails may be more difficult than in a public library setting but it is not
impossible. It may even be inspirational to some, that despite the hurdles that
a jail librarian faces, they can still match readers with books that their
patrons would enjoy.
References
Consulted:
Erica
MacCreaigh, “Readers’ Advisory Behind Bars,” Libraries Unlimited, http://www.readdersadvisoronline/ranews/sep2006/maccreaigh.html.
(accessed February 14, 2012)
Philip
Ephraim, “The Importance of a Library in Prison,” Correcitons.com, http://www.corrections.com/news/article/28613-the-importance-of-a-library-in-prison.html
(accessed February 14, 2012).
[1]
Intellectual Freedom Manual, “Prisoners Right to Read: An interpretation of the
library Bill of Rights,”http:www.ifmanual.org/prisoners (accessed February 12,
2012.)
[2] Interview
with correctional officer, February, 2012.
[3]
Catherine Sheldrick Ross, “Reader’s Advisory over the Next Twenty-Five Years,” Library Journal 126, no. 2
(2001):52-55.
[4]Shelia
Clark, Library services to the
incarcerated: Applying the Public Library Model in Correctional Facility
Libraries, “Understanding the Patrons”
( Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2006), 61-63.
[5]Ms.
Jones (jail librarian) in discussion with author, February 2012.
[6] Catherine
Sheldrick Ross, The Readers Advisory
Interview.” In Conducting the Reference Interview” (New York, New York:
Neal-Schuman, 2002), 163-175.
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