After the Lewis ruling in 1996, some states chose to reduce their law library collections to varying extents, but many chose to "maintain access to primary law resources...as well as legal reference materials" (Lehmann, 501). However, it is very expensive to keep up with ever-changing and new legal materials, and one partial solution to this problem would be for prisons to subscribe to new corrections-specific online products provided by companies like LexisNexis and Thomson Reuter rather than maintaining print law libraries (Lehmann, 501-502). Many prisons have already made this switch, but it of course requires more technology and training on how to use it than a print library, so it may require some extra cost and effort initially (Lehmann, 502).
There are still challenges in regard to other areas of prison libraries beyond the law library component as well. According to Lehmann, "the prison environment is an untraditional and inhospitable territory with priorities that challenge 'traditional' librarianship and philosophies" (495). Of course many librarians believe in philosophies such as the right of individuals to choose their own reading materials and have free access to information. However, in a prison setting that goal is not always attainable or even necessarily preferable. For example, inmates are not typically allowed to access to reading materials that may pose a threat to prison security, such as materials that provide information on bomb making or prison escapes, as well as materials that advocate for violence (Lehmann, 503). Although I do believe in the free access of information for the general population, I agree that incarcerated people should not have access to those types of materials because they would provide no benefit in terms of personal development, recreation, or education and could pose a potential threat to prison safety and security. However, I do think it is important for prison inmates to have access to other various types of books, including fiction, because it provides a beneficial form of recreation and may help inmates improve certain skills while they are incarcerated.
Prison Education
In my opinion, there are many benefits to prison libraries for both the prisoners themselves and for society. Many prisoners will at some point re-enter society, and if they have had the opportunity to pursue education while incarcerated that is a benefit not only for themselves, but also for others. As of 2011, between 50% and 60% of the prison population in the United States had not finished high school (Lehmann, 494). This statistic demonstrates that there is definitely a need for educational programs like GED classes in prisons; however, in addition to formal education programs, I think libraries can play a vital role in helping inmates improve their literacy skills if they need to, as well as learn new skills in parenting, anger management, and personal development. For example, an inmate who is a parent may be able to gain new insights and helpful information from reading books on parenting while they are in prison, which can then help them to be a better parent when they are released. This would be a benefit for the inmate herself, her children, and even society as a whole.
As a specific example, an article published this year (2017) in Library Journal describes the work carried out by Carol Cook, a jail librarian in Oregon. Although she works in a jail rather than a prison, I think the types of programs she offers could work in prisons as well. Cook organizes Literacy Development Groups that inmates can participate in for as long as they are incarcerated; essentially, she chooses the books for the groups to read and creates questions to facilitate discussion (Witteveen, 33). Cook says this program builds trust with the inmates, and I think it would also help the inmates stay focused on something positive (reading the books and preparing for discussions) rather than something else (Witteveen, 34). Another program that Cook runs is a prep course on the National Career Readiness Certificate, which is the type of re-entry program that I think is vital in prisons (Witteveen, 34). Additionally, Cook collects evaluations from inmates when they leave the literacy groups, and I thought some of the comments were worth sharing on this page to demonstrate the impact that these groups can have on inmates. One inmate said, "[Literacy group] allowed me to open up more and trust in others; their opinions matter just as mine do" (Witteveen, 34). Another inmate said, "Reading has helped pass time for me, but more importantly it has helped calm me down and overall keep a better state of mind" (Witteveen, 34). I think from anecdotal comments like these it is clear that libraries and library programming can have a huge impact on prisoners in terms of how they view their time in prison, and this will hopefully have an impact on how they move forward upon release. This is why I think it is vital that prisons continue to have prison libraries and provide educational and rehabilitative programming to go along with them now and in the future.