LibGuides: Professional Development for Delaware Library Staff: Services for Persons Who Are Incarcerated/Formerly Incarcerated

DDL Contacts

Libraries at DE Correctional Facilities

Per Marissa Parker's contact at DE Department of Corrections, June 2021 -

-"Howard R Young Correctional Institution: has two law libraries staffed by state employees, I am not sure if they have a regular book library. "

-"Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution: 1 state employee staffed law library, I do not recall an area for inmates to get regular books."

-" James T Vaughn Correctional Center: at least 2 state employee staffed law libraries and at least one inmate staffed regular book library."

-"Sussex Correctional Institution: has at least 1 employee staffed law library, I don’t recall seeing an area where regular books are shelved."

Incoming Publications
DOC Policy - Incoming Publications for Level V and Level 4 Facilities
Library Services
DOC policy

Correctional Services
New York Public Library
Fresh Start @ Your Library
New Jersey State Library
Statewide library reentry program that is focused on reconnecting returning citizens with their communities at public libraries
Jail and Reentry Services (JARS)
San Francisco Public Library
Re-entry Toolkits: Helping the Formerly Incarcerated at the Library
Article about re-entry toolkits at the McCracken County Public Library in Paducah KY by Hannah Arata, ALA Public Programs Office, Nov. 19 2021

Books Behind Bars
List of special requests, titles/subjects/genres that are often requested but rarely donated, and materials needed by Books Behind Bars, a grassroots, volunteer-run prison abolition project that provides free books to incarcerated people. The first and only books-to-prisoner program in New Jersey.
Books Through Bars' Wishlist
Books to Prisoners
Seattle-based nonprofit whose mission is to foster a love of reading behind bars, encourage the pursuit of knowledge and self-empowerment, and break the cycle of recidivism.
Books to Prisoners Programs
Links to books to prisoners programs in the US, Canada, and Great Britain.
LGBT Books to Prisoners
A trans-affirming, racial justice-focused, prison abolitionist project sending books to incarcerated LGBTQ-identified people across the United States

“Free Prison Tablet” Contracts
Prison Policy Initiative blog post - March 2019, rev. Nov. 2020

Supporting Formerly Incarcerated Individuals with a Fresh Start @ Your Library
ALA/PLA webinar - Nov. 18, 2021
Webinar about NJs Fresh Start @ Your Library - https://www.njstatelib.org/services_for_libraries/innovative-initiatives/fresh-start-your-library/ - which provides community reentry support to individuals returning to communities after serving time in prison or jail. Includes slide show, links shared by participants, and chat transcript.

ALA/ASGCLA Library Services to the Incarcerated and Detained Interest Group
The purpose of this interest group is to support those who serve patrons of any age who are held in jail, prison, detention or immigration facility.

Includes links to the ALA “Prisoner’s Right to Read” statement, as well as books,a listing of organizations, and a link to the Ear Hustle Podcast featuring episodes of daily life inside prison.

Reports, articles, webinars, and information about jail and prison libraries and for jail and prison librarians are included in the Publications and Resources sections.
Tranzmission Prison Project
Queer- and trans-powered prison abolition organization that provides free literature and resources for incarcerated members of the LGBTQ community. Based in Asheville, North Carolina.