Month: April 2022

Getting books to the incarcerated has long suffered many problems, and things got even more challenging during the pandemic. There are dozens of programs in the United States that work to establish prison libraries to ensure the incarcerated population gets access to books. Most of these programs are supported by donors and volunteers. Carrying out the program is not an easy task since prison systems have varying and ever-changing rules.

Why are the Books to Prison Initiatives so Important

The program’s goal is to transform the role of libraries in the lives of the incarcerated. Many people in prisons will go back to the community, and they need to be able to thrive. Getting these books and education is a vital step to reentering society.

Also, like other people, anyone in prison has a right to education and entertainment. Many activists are fighting to improve the prisons’ conditions, and getting books into the prison is a crucial step. Libraries lower the recidivism rates. According to the Department of Corrections, even basic education may decrease recidivism.

Prison libraries also reduce idleness. Inmates spend quality time reading books. In most cases, idleness leads to involvement in destructive behaviors and violence, and it is most rampant in prisons. Hence, the books to prison initiative help inmates utilize their time studying and reading.

Inmates also get a chance to understand state and federal law through law books and other legal publications. The knowledge they get from the law books helps them receive fair and just judgment or treatment. Some inmates have used the knowledge to overturn their convictions which could not have been possible without prison libraries.

Giving Incarcerated Population the Gift of Reading

A new law school library’s initiative is giving the inmates the pleasure of reading books. The Yale Law School Library program is one of the initiatives that is affording this privilege to inmates. The program that started in 2020 was halted by the COVID-19 but resumed in late February 2022.

The Yale Law Library program led by Julian Aiken, assistant director for Law Library’s access and faculty services, has donated more than 1,300 books to various prisons and correctional centers. Aiken started the books to prison initiative after inspiration from (at that time) a law Ph.D. candidate, Dwayne Betts. Betts was a former prison inmate who understood better a sense of freedom after reading poems while in prison.

Aiken’s first book donation was to the Cheshire Correctional Institute, where 700 books were given. According to Aiken, the initiative delivered recent casebooks to help inmates with appeals and other legal questions. With the help of the senior administrative assistant at Yale Law School, Miriam Benson, the initiative continues to grow. The program has expanded to other local jails, including women’s shelters and homeless service providers in New Haven. Apart from prisons, shelters for domestic violence victims in Ansonia, CT, have benefited from the book’s initiative.

According to the Law Librarian and law professor Femi Cadmus, the books to prison initiative is just one way of breaking the barriers to literacy and access to information, even for inmates. Since they are intended to be temporary living spaces, many prisons have no books for the inmates. People in prisons also have no resources to buy books. That’s why prison libraries are the only way they have to access knowledge and entertainment.

The American Library Association recently released its annual State of America’s Libraries Report, detailing the top 10 most challenged books in 2021. Below are the books and the reasons for their bans:

1. Gender Queer: Maia Kobabe

Maia Kobabe writes a memoir about eir journey of self-discovery and life experiences. This story is told in a graphic and detailed manner. It was banned for the graphic sexual content found in the book, with the inclusion of personal sexual experiences.

2. Lawn Boy: Jonathan Evison

Written as a semi-autobiography, Jonathan Evision details the life experiences of Mike Munoz, a young Mexican American who goes through a journey of self-discovery, dealing gender-identity that are coupled with the existing challenge of adolescence and self-identity. The novel also touches on racial prejudices that a brown person experiences in America. This novel was banned by many schools and challenged by parents due to the amount of obscenities and sexual content found.

3. All Boys Aren’t Blue: George M Johnson

Written by journalist Geore M Johnson, All Boys Aren’t Blue is a personal memoir about the challenges that a black queer boy experiences in the society of America. George M Johnson’s story related to many young queer adults who are going through a similar experience. It was banned due to its LGBTQI+ content and explicit content and language.

4. Out of Darkness: Ashley Hope Perez

This novel is one of historical nature in which the author focuses on the romantic relationship between a teenage Mexican American girl and a teenage African American boy in the early 1900s. Challenges from parents and bans from school came because of the sexual content and physical abuse illustrated in the book.

5. The Hate U Give: Angie Thomson

Angie Thomson tells the story a 16-year-old African American girl who witnesses a police officer kill her childhood friend. It’s major themes are police brutality and the racial prejudices in America. It was banned as educational bodies believed that it promoted a certain social and slightly political agenda.

6. The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian: Sherman Alexie

A 1st person perspective of Native American teenager, detailing his childhood. The author touches on bullying, racism and violence. It has been consistently challenged over the last decade due to the presence of homophobic slurs and the amount of violence present in the book.

7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl: Jesse Andrews

A book that received a film adaptation, this novel focuses on the relationship between three high school seniors and the tribulations that they face. The novel faced much criticism due to its misogynistic nature and sexual content.

8. The Bluest Eye: Toni Morrison

A fictional tale of an 11-year-old African American girl, the bluest eye gives an eye-opening perspective of life from a girl who experiences abuse in its different forms. Parents and educational bodies have found the book to be inappropriate due to its sexual content.

9. This Book is Gay: Juno Dawson

As an informative guide, this book aims to educate young people about the LGBTQ community as well as sexual identity. It was banned and challenged for those particular reasons.

10. Beyond Magenta: Susan Kuklin

Susan Kuklin interviews six people that identify as transgender and gender-neutral. These interviews give insight on the experiences of people of the LGBTQI+ community. Parents called for the book to be banned due to the LGBTQI+ content and nature.

ALA will continue to advocate for free speech by launching an “Unite Against Book Bans” campaign.