Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People Initiative
Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People Initiative
Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People is an initiative based in San Francisco Public Library’s (SFPL) Jail and Reentry Services program, in coordination with the American Library Association (ALA). This project exists to locate library services to incarcerated people and to support the development of new services. It is made possible by a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation.
PROJECT OUTCOMES
New Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated and Detained
Interactive digital map of library services for incarcerated people
Publicly available professional development video series
White paper on digital literacy
More information about the grant is available in an ALA press release, from the Mellon Foundation, and on SFPL’s website.
In 2021, a task force of correctional library workers and other institutional stakeholders headed by ODLOS began work on a massive reimagining of the American Library Association’s 1992 Library Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions.
The new Standards will heed the current phenomenon of mass incarceration, the inequitable incarceration rates of BIPOC individuals, and the rising rates of incarceration of women (especially women of color). It will pay special attention to the incarceration of LGBTQIA+ individuals, undocumented individuals, and youth, as well as to the information needs of returning individuals.
More information about the newest version of the Standards is available at https://alaeditions.org/standards
