Australian prison libraries: minimum standard guidelines

2. Existence and purpose of prison libraries

2.1 The purpose of prison library services is to meet the recreational, educational, and other information needs of inmates during their imprisonment and to provide information which will help them subsequently to re-establish themselves in the community.

Within this general definition is implicit a wide range of functions: vocational, cultural, inspirational, legal, etc.

2.2 Every prison or similar institution with an average inmate population of 25 or more shall have its own library for the exclusive use of inmates, similar to a local public library.

2.3 In the case of smaller institutions, inmates shall be guaranteed an alternative that will equally serve their needs. Such an alternative might be access to a local public library, scheduled visits by a mobile library, or periodic rotation of a collection of books and other materials supplied by a library.