ASGLCA is dissolved as an ALA division and this page is an archive. Please visit the ASGCLA Transitions 2020- for further information
Purpose of 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.
Interest Group Leader:
TBD
Conference Programs:
Interest Group Meeting - Midwinter
Interest Group Meeting - Annual - TBD
Tips:
- You have the power to change lives.
- Find out what the rules are and follow them. Ask questions. Write things down.
- Be consistent.
- Watch and learn.
- People will do crazy things, you don't have to react to everything.
- Maintain a healthy degree of skepticism. Trust your instincts.
- Never forget that you work in a prison, where keeping the inmates in prison and keeping staff safe is going to take precedence over anything else we might do or want to do in the library.
- Remember that you work with inmates, and no matter how "good" you think they are, they may be capable of some not so nice things.
- Anything can be turned into a weapon.
- Know the protocols for an emergency and follow when needed.
- You should be vague but affirmative about what you plan to do. If you say you are going to do something, then you must do it.
- Maintain a sense of humor
Useful Websites:
Professional Tools for Prison Libraries: http://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/prison-libraries
Library of Congress Guide to Law Online: http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide.php
Legal Information Institute of Cornell University Law School: http://www.law.cornell.edu/
Locating the Law Guide: http://scallnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/complete_5th_edition.pdf
Prisoners Right to Read: http://www.ifmanual.org/prisoners
Library Services for Youth in Custody: http://www.youthlibraries.org/
US Dept of Education, Office of Correctional Education: http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/AdultEd/OCE/index.html
Ex‐offenders and the Labor Market: http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/ex-offenders-2010-11.pdf
Information for libraries and librarians serving Latinos & Spanish- speaking communities: http://www.reforma.org/content.asp?pl=9&sl=59&contentid=59
Health Information from the NIH and NLM: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/