3. People in state and federal prison in the US: 1.6
million*
Percent of incarcerated people with less than a
high school education: 23%
*as of December 31, 2012
4. Ex Parte Hull (1940)
Younger v. Gilmore (1971)
Bounds v. Smith (1977)
Lewis v. Casey (1996)
The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995
5. This 1940 Supreme Court case ruled that
stated may not block prisoners rights to
apply to a federal court a writ of habeas
corpus.
This guaranteed prisoners the right to
appear in front of the court
6. Supreme Court ruled that prisoners must
be supplied with legal materials
Unclear in its definitions of what prisoners
needed
7. Added the term “meaningful access to the
courts” to the prisoners rights that existed
8. Decision stated that prisoners are not
necessarily guaranteed access to a law
library
9. In 1995, courts ruled to limit prisoners
ability to file federal suits from within prison
Done in an effort to curb frivolous lawsuits
Seen by many as denying prisoners their
constitutional rights to access the court
10. ALA Document, 2010
“asserts a compelling public interest in the
preservation of intellectual freedom for
individuals of any age held in
jails, prisons, detention facilities, juvenile
facilities, immigration facilities, prison work
camps and segregated units within any
facility”
11. LIS professional are held to a code of
ethics that requires them to provide equal
access to all patrons, regardless of who
they are.
Reading lists of prisoners should be kept
confidential
12. Would I be able to serve violent criminals
as my patrons, and respect their privacy
rights?
What is the therapeutic value of group
reading programs?
How can prison libraries increase
awareness of their services?
13. Should people be judged in court based on
books that they have read in the past?
Should they be made public record?
14.
American Library Association. ALA, 2013. Web. 29 July 2013.
Billington, Josie. “Reading for Life: Prison Reading Groups in Practice and Theory”. Critical Survey. Vol. 23 Issue 3 (2011): 67-
85. Web. 29 July 2013.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. Office of Justice Programs, 2013. Web. 29 July 2013.
Chen, Cindy. “The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Doing Away with More than
Crunchy Peanut Butter”. St. John’s Law Review. Vol. 78.1 (2004): 203-231. Web. 29 July 2013.
Conrad, Suzanna. “Collection Development and Circulation Policies in Prison Libraries: An Exploratory Survey of Librarians in U.S.
Correctional Institutions”. Library Quarterly.Vol 82.4 (2012): 407-427. Web. 29 July 2013.
Glaberston, William. “Prison Books Bring Plot Twist to Cheshire Killings”. The New York Times 21 July 2010: Web. 29 July
2013.
“Prisoners’ Rights to Read, An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights”. Intellectual Freedom Manual. ALA Council. Web. 29
July 2013.
Rubin, Richard E. Foundations of Library and Infromation Science. New York:Neal- Schuman Publishers, 2010. Print.
Sabath, Michael J. and William Payne. “U.S. Prison Strategies for Complying With Constitutional Rights”. The Prison Journal.
Vol. 92.1 (2012):45-62. Web. 29 July 2013.
Wilhelmus, David W. “A New Emphasis for Correctional Facilities Libraries”. Journal of Academic Librarianship. Vol. 25.2 (1999):
114. Web. 29 July 2013.
