iour. Victoria says: “Library staff carry out regular surveys of prisoners to ensure that we are meeting their needs and pro- viding a tailored service. In the feedback there is always overwhelming evidence that the library improves wellbeing. As one prisoner said recently, ‘Being able to read in prison is an emotional lifeline’. Many prisoners struggle with their mental health while in prison, and the library provides an escape – ‘prison would be unbearable without it’. “Wellbeing is also improved when prisoners take part in family projects that strengthen their ties with their children, so this is an important aspect of our work and one of the most rewarding. Prisoners who might be argumentative on the wing, are more relaxed in the library and I’ve even had an officer express surprise when he saw how well-behaved a man who gave them endless problems on his wing was! The library space is seen as separate, a place to escape from peer-pressure and those e xpected negative behaviours and attitudes.” The report highlights this further, saying: “They act as a cultural centre within the prison and help to effect behavioural change, enhance the prison community, and support the reducing reoffending agenda through purposeful activity and enabling literacy and other skills development. “Despite their significance, two Ofsted reports criticise the access and lack of use of libraries in prison to support prisoner education. Feedback from practitioners in prison libraries also suggest that prison libraries are often low-profile and low priority, and some prison officers are unaware of their existence.”


Victoria points out that prisons are often operating under difficult circumstances, meaning competing priorities can exacer- bate problems around access to libraries. “The biggest barrier to engagement with library services in prisons is the many issues prisons face on a daily basis. Some are strug- gling with over-crowding. There are severe staff shortages, and many inexperienced staff who don’t stay long. Some prisons are struggling to maintain good order, and have to prioritise safety over everything else. “There are also many competing demands on officers’ times and they have to prioritise the areas that are crucial. The problem is that there are so many crucial areas that need staffing, that the library comes low on the list and can be seen as a luxury when the prison is short-staffed. Working to alleviate these pressures is required before meaningful progress will be made, but there has been an improve- ment in Governors understanding that the library should feature on their list of priority areas, for the benefit of the prison and prisoners.”


Recognising the difficulties does not 22 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


mean things aren’t changing, and Victoria believes that library staff are helping to shift perceptions, saying: “I’m pleased to say that the profile of the library has increased in prisons since this project was started, due to a number of factors. “There has been much more empha- sis placed on reading in recent years, following the 2022 report into reading in prisons that was very scathing. This led to reading strategies being implemented in all prisons and made reading high on the agenda for prison regimes. Raising the profile of reading has encouraged many prison governors to improve access to the library, but there’s still work to do because


in many prisons having a few books on the wings is seen as a viable alternative to a library visit. In a busy prison environ- ment with competing demands on officers’ time, moving prisoners to the library can be seen as an ‘option if we have time’. “Prison librarians need to always remind prison staff of the benefits of actually visiting the library space, and regularly remind them that libraries aren’t just books.”


That work to change how prison librar- ies are viewed, and to help promote the benefits has been boosted by CILIP PLG’s recent Prison Libraries Excellence Frame- work. Victoria says the framework could


February-March 2026


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