11th National Library Technicians Conference

Books behind bars: Libraries in New South Wales correctional centres

Kevin Dudeney New South Wales Department of Corrective Services

Abstract
In New South Wales, if a correctional centre has a library, it is the responsibility of the Commissioner for Department of Corrective Services to ensure that it is maintained. In 1990 ALIA published Australian Prison Libraries: Minimum Standard Guidelines. New South Wales has 27 correctional centres and each one has a library, some have more than one. During 2000, a survey was conducted of all correctional centre libraries to determine whether they meet the minimum standard guidelines. This paper will look at the findings of that research. Including the benefits of employing trained personnel and the challenges for those working in a unique environment such as a correctional centre.

NSW Department of Corrective Services Mission Statement

Reduce re-offending through secure, safe and humane management of offenders [1]

Introduction
There are twenty-seven correctional centres in New South Wales and each one has a library for inmates to use. During 2000 and 2001, a survey was conducted of these libraries to determine whether they met ALIA's, Australian Prison Libraries - Minimum Standard Guidelines (1990). This paper presents the findings of the survey, with respect to premises, staff and library collections. In addition, the role library technicians could perform in this very challenging environment is also considered.

The only place of certainty, in a place of uncertainty

The quote is attributed to Peter Nakitch. Peter was the librarian, who established the Ron Woodham Library at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (MRRC), 900-bed correctional centre, located in the Sydney suburb of Silverwater.

When you talk to library practice students and mention libraries in correctional centres, they say they would not like to work in a place where your users are murderers, rapist and thieves. Well, how well do you know the background of the users of any public, university, TAFE or state libraries?

Someone put it very succinctly when asked about working in a correctional centre as compared to working outside:

'Here, the inmates are dried up, cleaned up, and have to check their weapons at the door.' [2]

During 2000 and 2001, I conducted a survey of all correctional centres in the New South Wales corrections system. Of the twenty-seven (27) correctional centres, twenty-one (21) were personally visited, while the other six were contacted by phone. The phone had to be used where the correctional centre was either too far away, eg Broken Hill, Glen Innes or the where the security is the strictest and casual visitors are not encouraged, eg Special Purpose Centre.

There is one thing from my research that I can confidently say that every correctional centre in NSW has a library and some have more than one, eg Goulburn Correctional Centre currently has three (maximum security, minimum security and a special unit) and will have a fourth library when the new section opens.

From a historical perspective libraries and a prisoner's or inmate's ability to access them was first included in the prison regulations of the 1860s. At that time inmates were always encouraged to read, a bible was standard issue, and if the schoolmaster who was also the librarian thought it was appropriate an inmate received a book from the library. The idea that an inmate could browse a library as happens today was not the case up unto the 1950s. Before then inmates were issued books and magazines, sometimes once, twice or three times a week depending on their classification and gaol rules.

Under the appropriate NSW legislation the Commissioner for the Department of Corrective Services has to ensure that where a library exists it must be maintained. As I have stated before, a library does exist in every correctional centre in New South Wales. Of these 27 correctional centres only one, the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre, has a library that could be called a library by our professional standards. This library is professionally managed with a full time librarian and library technician, an in house computer system, for the catalogue and OPAC and integrated circulation system. The library was primarily established as a law reference library and has a number of law databases on CD-ROM and an Internet connection for use by staff. No inmate will ever have access to the internet. The security implications are too great.

Junee Correctional Centre run by Australasian Correctional Management sub contract their education services, including the inmate library, to East Gippsland TAFE. At the time of the survey the person who was employed to run the library (not a qualified librarian or LT), spent her time 50 per cent in the library and 50 per cent doing secretarial work. The library used the OASIS circulation and catalogue system and by the time she conducted some outreach activities she made the place into a good little library.

Of the other libraries in the system the one that was the best would be the one at Cessnock Correctional Centre. Although, it is not professionally managed, the education staff have put a lot of time and effort into making it the best possible. The collection includes large print books and books on tape for the visually impaired, and feature films on DVD. They also run a number outreach activities for the inmates, eg the showing of documentary videos.

We will now look at the various aspects of correctional centre libraries and what is happening in the correctional centres of New South Wales.

Premises
There is only one standard design for libraries in correctional centres, a rectangular room with shelves, table or tables and a couple of chairs. These rooms are usually allocated with reluctance. One library is in a converted garage. On a warm day the garage roller door can be raised to let in some fresh air. One aspect not considered when rooms are allocated is that library collections expand and most of the inmate libraries, I visited, have no room to expand.

Most libraries are located in the education block. This may seem appropriate due to the relationship between education and a library. However, education facilities in correctional centres only operate during the day, Monday to Friday, therefore inmates cannot access the library after work, on weekends or public holidays.

From time to time new gaols are proposed and built. But despite the requests from the education staff no provision is made for any thing more than an allocation of a space.

Staff
Other than the two correctional centres already mentioned, the staff of correctional centre libraries are inmates. The calibre of inmate librarians (the title by which they are known), varies from the more intelligent and articulate inmate who has a passion for the library and books to one who is given the job because he was unsuitable for anything else. The quality of the library varies due to the enthusiasm of the inmate librarian.

The staff member who supervises the library is usually the senior education officer or education officer. Supervision of a library is not included in their position descriptions, and some confess, other than the obvious aspect of lending books, they really have no knowledge of how a library should operate. However, if they did not do it, the library would not function at all.

Library collections
The collections do not vary significantly between correctional centres. The library collections are mainly books. However, the quality of these collections does vary. Most of the collections have a mixture of old and new material, this may be not a problem for fiction books, however, without a proper weeding programme it is a concern for non fiction books. As stated previously Cessnock is the only library that provides material in a range of formats.

Like anywhere else the range and quality of the material in the library is impacted on by the amount of funding allocated. The funds allocated for each library vary from nil at one correctional centre to $30 000 at the MRRC. The average amount would be $10 000, which is not too bad considering the resources are provided for approximately 300 people. The correctional centre that has a budget of nil usually gets donations of old stock from bookshops. Although this is good in one respect since the inmates are receiving new material. However, is this the material that is really needed? The classification schemes of these libraries are many and varied. For non-fiction material some inmate libraries use Dewey to a couple of decimal places, one library even has a full set of DDC 21 or they get the number from the CIP. At Grafton the education officer sends a list of the titles to the local public library and they assign call numbers. However, most libraries group their material under subjects. As for fiction they are mainly grouped under genre or some libraries used a scheme introduced by the department: F1: General; F2: Thriller; F3: Mystery; F4: Historical; F5: Humour; F6: Romance; F7: Sea Stories; F8: Short Stories; F9: War Stories; F10: Westerns; F11: Science Fiction; F12: Autobiography - Music.

Around 50 per cent of the libraries have a catalogue. Mostly these catalogues are either Excel or Access database programs containing title/author details and sometimes the call number. The 'Find and Replace' function is used for keyword searching. A small number had the catalogue divided into subjects and genres and some recorded the borrowing details.

Is there a role for library technicians in correctional centre libraries?
The practical nature of the work in running a library in a correctional centre would make the job very suitable for library technicians. Acquisition of material requested by the inmates, education staff or from an understanding by the library technician of what is of interest to inmates. Putting the material purchased in the collection, accessioning, cataloguing and end processing. The cataloguing of the material would have to be done on a standard database, Excel or Access. The circulation system, would also use one of these types of databases. Providing training to the inmate library clerks and inmate borrowers. Answering basic reference enquiries. There would probably be limited opportunity for in depth research. Most libraries would not have the facilities or access to the internet.

In some of these libraries there would not be enough work to fully occupy a library technician for a full week once the library was functioning with a trained inmate library clerk. However, the solution to this would be that the library technician could be responsible for the supervision of more than one library. One library technician could look after the four libraries at the Long Bay Complex, or the four libraries at Goulburn Correctional Centre or travel between Lithgow, Kirkconnell and Bathurst Correctional Centres.

There is no doubt that library technicians could do the work. The only problem is the reluctance of New South Wales Corrective Services and possibly the other states to give inmate libraries the priority they deserve. It is well known that reading, by inmates, is therapeutic and that providing them with information relating to their interests or study may be of benefit to them on their release.

Conclusion
Not one library in the New South Wales corrections system would fully comply with the Australian Prison Libraries - Minimum Standard Guidelines. There is no consistency from one library to another, one has a good budget and purchases up to date material, another has no budget and survives on donations. One has full-time library staff and provides an excellent service, the remainder have no trained staff, relying on inmate librarians, providing an adequate service. Some libraries make a good effort at having the collections classified, while others barely have their books in subject or genre order.

These libraries need the attention that can only be provided by the library profession. Then and only then will these libraries be able to participate in the rehabilitation program and be seen to be participating in the Department's mission.

References
[1] Corporate Plan 2001 - 2004. (2001). Sydney, NSW Dept. of Corrective Services.

[2] Caudron, S. (2000). HR behind bars: a day in the life of HR in the state prison. Workforce, June p. 45-52.

Author
Completed the Associated Diploma in Library Practice from Mt Druitt TAFE in 1994. He went on to complete the Bachelor of Applied Science (Information and Library Studies) from Curtin University in 1998. Kevin commenced work with the NSW Department of Corrective Services in 1994, where he has held the position of assistant library technician and senior library technician.