Prison Librarian SIG
From Metro Collaborate
Contents |
About Us
The Prison Librarian Special Interest Group (SIG) is a professional discussion group for librarians working with incarcerated adults and youth, those interested in the library-related work being done in prisons and detention centers, as well as library staff interested in re-entry services. Its first meeting was held on December 8, 2008. We exchange ideas to help each other in our work, and hope to accomplish more professional work in the field in the future, including publishing articles and presenting at conferences.
Mailing List Information
The Prison Librarian SIG has an email list. To join, please email the co-convenors: Nick Higgins mailto:@Nicholas_Higgins@nypl.org or Carl Romalismailto:cromalis@live.com.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Prison Librarians SIG will be in September of 2010 at METRO (57 E 11th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY). You can check the METRO Calendar of Events, as well. We have quarterly meetings that last 2 hours, and a speaker from the community is usually invited. See you in the fall!
Past Events
Public Library Service Outreach to Correctional Facilities: FROM THE OUTSIDE IN at Pratt Institute of Technology, April 23 @ 4:30 pm.
See flyer for details: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXVjVDEn0QClZHFnczM0M185OWdnY21ibWN0&hl=en
Previous Meetings
June 4, 2010 meeting
Notes from the March 5, 2010 meeting can be found here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXVjVDEn0QClZHFnczM0M185OGRqMzNoZDl6&hl=en
Notes from the December 11, 2009 meeting can be found here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXVjVDEn0QClZHFnczM0M184OWRmZHBtamc3&hl=en
Notes from the October 9, 2009 meeting can be found here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXVjVDEn0QClZHFnczM0M182MWRyY2poMmYy&hl=en
Notes from the June 19, 2009 meeting can be found here: http://docs.google.com/Edit?docid=dqgs343_54f3t44cgd.
Minutes from the April 24, 2009 meeting can be found here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dqgs343_37dtv35std
Notes from the March 27, 2009 meeting can be found here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dqgs343_36hmr7zzgf
Minutes from the Friday, February 27, 2009 meeting can be found here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d324qtk_45ghs8w8g6
Minutes from the January 16, 2009 meeting are available at the following link: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dqgs343_25gkxg9cc7[1]
Our first meeting was held on Monday, December 8, 2008. Minutes from our inaugural December 8 2008 meeting are available through this link. http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dchn2r6b_40d4mmxfg4&hl=en[2]
Correctional Facilities in New York City
This is a list of prisons, jails, juvenile detention centers and other locked facilities in the five boroughs of New York City and whether general library service is available to prisoners:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AnVjVDEn0QCldHoyYlVRTHN2cDhSeEdGbWZnbUxVekE&hl=en
Thank you to Jessica Ross for putting the list together and getting it started.
Acronyms and Glossary of Related Terms
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AXVjVDEn0QClZHFnczM0M185NGMyanF4emZq&hl=en This is a list of acronyms related to work in the criminal justice system, their definitions and related links.
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/lawlibraries/glossary.shtml This is a glossary of legal terms compiled by the New York State Unified Court System.
Thank you to Nick Higgins for putting this section together and getting it started.
Links
Links to valuable information sources for librarians who are serving individuals involved with the criminal justice system or those who want to learn more about it.
http://www.reentry.net/ny/ ReEntry.net, a project of the Bronx Defenders and other collaborating organizations, has an exhaustive library of links to services and guides for librarians and lawyers. It is a statewide clearinghouse for advocate materials. Topics include law, eduaction, employment, health, immigration, public benefits, family, voting, and more.
http://www.correctionalassociation.org/ The Correctional Association of New York, founded in 1844 to advocate for the improvement of prison conditions, remains an active participant in the field. Their publications include a newsletter, reports, fact sheets, and testimony that may be useful to researchers and librarians. They focus special attention on juvenile justice, women in prison and drug law.
http://www.wpaonline.org/index.html Women's Prison Association is a New York based advocacy group that practices direct service and policy research. Their publications include reports, briefs and extensive toolkits for service providers.
http://nicic.gov/Features/Library/ The National Institute of Corrections provides a large online library with a wonderful user interface to explore it. Their collection is not limited to New York state materials but it includes a website directory, online curricula for lawyers, educators, corrrections staff and incarcerated individuals, and a great video learning directory.
http://www.nysda.org/ The New York State Defenders Association is a not-for-profit membership group working in New York's criminal defense community. They produce a number of publication useful to law librarians including research reports and book revues available in PDF.
http://www.nypl.org/help/community-outreach/correctional-services-program The New York Public Library Correctional Services Program puts books into the hands of inmates in jails and prisons in the New York City area, including Riker's Island and Sing Sing Prison. If you would like more information or you would like to volunteer, please call Nick Higgins at 212-340-0971.
http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/connections2010.pdf Connections 2010: a guide for formerly incarcerated people to information services in New York City. The guide helps former inmates get back on their feet in the community, and provides information about how to get a job, etc. If you or someone you know has been recently incarcerated, and you do not have access to a computer, you can contact Nick Higgins at 212-340-0971 for a Connections book.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/ascla/ascla.cfm The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies represents libraries serving special populations, which includes prisons. This is a division of the American Library Association.
Newspaper Articles
http://www.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh/2010/jun/03/edinburgh-saughton-prison-library-award-final
Edinburgh Prison Library Up for Award
The prison library at HMP Saughton is one of three libraries in the UK up for the finals of the Libraries Change Lives Award.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/opinion/26wed3.html?scp=5&sq=%22prison%20%22&st=cse
Slaughter in Les Cases
A dozen inmates were killed, and 40 were injured, as a result of a prison raid in Haiti following the January 12th earthquake.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704852004575258824174766374.html?KEYWORDS=prison
His Writer's Workshop?: A Prison Cell
William Sydney Porter, who wrote under the pen name O. Henry, spent more than three decades in prison for embezzlement.
Co-Convenors
Nick Higgins
Correctional Services Librarian
New York Public Library
476 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-340-0971
mailto:Nicholas_Higgins@nypl.org
Carl Romalis
Librarian
Arthur Kill Correctional Facility
2911 Arthur Kill Road
Staten Island, NY 10309
(718) 356-7333
mailto:cromalis@live.com
