Australian prison libraries: minimum standard guidelines

1. Introduction

1.1 Minimum standard guidelines

The starting point for the present guidelines is the draft Australian rule for prison library services, formulated in 1978. This rule says:

All categories of prisoners shall have access to a library adequately stocked with both recreational and instructional books, and prisoners shall be encouraged to make full use of it.

This statement, which is Rule 40 in C R Bevan's Minimum standard guidelines for Australian prisons: discussion paper (1978), is based on the UN Standard Minimum Rule.

In the context of current Australian conditions, the words 'instructional books' are outdated and should be replaced by 'information resources'. Thus reworded, the rule becomes:

All categories of prisoners shall have access to a library adequately stocked with both recreational and information resources, and prisoners shall be encouraged to make full use of it.

1.2 Other standards

The present guidelines draw heavily on British and North American standards, viz.:

Federal standards for prisons and jails, US Department of Justice, 1980.

Manual of standards: prisons, Canadian Criminal Justice Association, 1985.

Prison libraries: Library Association guidelines, Library Association, 1981.

Standards for adult correctional institutions, American Correctional Association, 1981.

Suggested educational and library standards for prisons, Canadian Association for Adult Education, 1985.

Because of the close link with public libraries, there is also a close relationship with the ALIA standards for public libraries: Towards a quality service: goals, objectives and standards for public libraries in Australia (ALIA, 1990).

1.3 Scope

The word 'prison' or 'prisons' in these guidelines is used to mean correctional institutions in general, e.g. prisons, remand centres and detention centres.