Check Out "Challenges and Accomplishments in U.S. Prison Libraries"

Sabrina Rondero

 Lehmann, V. (2011). Challenges and accomplishments in U.S. prison libraries. Library Trends, 59(3), 490–508. https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2011.0001 

Introduction.: EBSCOhost (sjlibrary.org) 

This article explores the library services that are made available in prisons in the United States and the evolving role of prison libraries in the last two centuries. The article highlights the challenges that arise in developing and providing library services in a prison environment by reviewing successful library services and projects that have been implemented in the past. Also covered in the article are collection development policies, law library services, resource management and other topics that are crucial to many other library settings.  

The American Library Association has written handbooks and journals attempting to define standards in prison library work. The journal emphasizes the main point, which is that at the root of any library work it is essential for librarians to understand the communities they serve and to strategize their resources in order to fulfill their patron's information needs.