HMP Swaleside Library. Photo © Rosie Hancock/Kent Libraries
deliver consistent services and provide a useful tool for prison inspectors to consider the value of services.
She says: “HM Inspectorate do now have a list of inspection criteria for libraries, but they don’t carry out full library inspec- tions – they are generally just seen as an extension to the Education provision. The CILIP Prison Libraries Group has pub- lished an Excellence Framework which recognises the value of the prison library, and describes what makes a good prison library service – this could provide the basis of a framework for the inspectors. “Prisoners are often moved from prison to prison, and we are regularly told that libraries are not very good in some prisons, and great in others, so we believe that there is a need for a more systematic approach to library inspections to improve parity across the prison estate.”
The Prison Libraries Group also worked with Libraries Connected and the prison service to improve contracts, which has helped make it more viable for local authorities to run prison services. The changes also appear to have made prison leaders better understand the value of the service they are receiving.
Victoria feels that the latest report from Arts Council England adds weight to the mounting evidence that prison libraries can be a hugely valuable tool. She says
February-March 2026
that the next steps will be around raising awareness among prison guards, helping to point out the benefits that regular access to the library can have on individuals and the wider prison community. Victoria says: “[The report] backed up my belief that there is a gap between how prisoners perceive the library and how prison staff on the wings see it, and has shown a need for some awareness training in the induction of new officers. It has highlighted the positive impact that the prison library can have on prisoners’
behaviour and rehabilitation, and that can only be a good thing as we make a case for higher priority in the regime.
“The next step would be to create officer awareness training to be added to the standard officer training. Creating a read- ing culture needs to start with the officers on the wings in order for it to spread to the prisoners. And if officers are aware of the many benefits that library use offers, to individuals and the prison as a whole, it might encourage them to see the library as useful rather than extra work.” Finally, Victoria reminds us that the biggest impact is felt by inmates themselves – the people who are using libraries. When things are working well this is a positive influence on their lives, but she adds that library staff regularly get feedback from inmates who have missed a session reporting the negative impact that has on them. She says: “[this feedback] sums up how strongly prisoners feel when they can’t access the library due to regime restrictions – ‘This regular cancelling of library sessions is unfair & is now having a psychological impact on my ability to serve my time in a positive way. Library time is the most decent & civilised part of my week because it’s the only calm place in the prison’.”
Read the full report at
www.artscouncil.org. uk/raising-profile-prison-libraries. IP
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
