Australian prison libraries: minimum standard guidelines

9. Technical services

9.1 Efficient procedures shall be established for the acquisition of library materials, according to accepted professional practice. The acquisition program shall be carried out in a planned and continuous way, with due attention to the need for minimising costs, keeping within budget, and conducting affairs in a businesslike manner.

9.2 As in other libraries, materials shall be arranged logically for convenient use. A catalogue shall be available to inmates, not only of the library's own stock but also (where possible) other stock within the system. Ancillary files, e.g. shelf lists, shall be maintained as necessary.

9.3 Cataloguing of materials shall be of a sufficiently high standard to enable them to be entered in union catalogues.

9.4 Library materials shall be processed in such a way as to keep them in good repair, easily findable and attractive in appearance.

9.5 Prison library operations shall be - or aim to be - organised in such a way as to make best use of available technology, e.g. automation, e-mail etc.