Mandatory texts
As outlined in the Prison education & library services for adult prison in England policy framework, the following publications must be available in prison libraries:
- Archbold’s Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice
- The Civil Procedure Rules
- Extant Prison Service Instructions (PSIs) and Prison Service Orders (PSOs), Policy
- Frameworks (when published) excluding those that have restrictions placed on
- them.
- The Prison Rules 1999 and The Young Offender Institution Rules 2000
Further MoJ and HMPPS guidance relating to library services should be available on the HMPPS intranet.
Restricted material
Below is some information and advice around provision of ‘sensitive material’ in prison libraries. This includes advice provided in a training pack created by the CILIP Prison Libraries Group, MoJ/HMPPS guidance about banned materials and links to CILIP’s Ethics Principles and Intellectual Freedom policy. The JISCMail Prison Library mailing list is a great way of seeking advice from other library staff – you can read more about the mailing list on this page.
CILIP Training pack
CILIP’s Prison Libraries Group has created a Training Pack for staff new to working in prison libraries. It includes some helpful information on sensitive and restricted material, including advice on making decisions about book stock. See pages 41-44 in the document below.
Moj / HMPPS Prison Public Protection policy framework
More detailed information about restricted material in prisons is outlined in the MoJ / HMPPS Prison Public Protection Policy Framework. See section 7.13 Banned and Controlled Material on pp. 84-86.
CILIP’s Ethical principles and intellectual freedom policy
As library and informational professionals working in any sector, it is important to be familiar with CILIP’s Ethical Principles for our profession. CILIP have also produced an Intellectual Freedom policy, which is relevant when thinking about access to information and censorship in prison libraries. Within this policy, CILIP states: “In line with CILIP’s Ethical Principles…as library and information professionals we are committed to upholding, promoting and defending human rights, equality and diversity, and intellectual freedom including freedom from censorship.” You can read more and download the full policy at this page.
Book restrictions in US prisons
In 2019, PEN America published a policy paper called Literature Locked Up: How Prison Book Restriction Policies Constitute the Nation’s Largest Book Ban which details the types of books banned in prisons and the arbitrariness with which bans are implemented. The report also gives a good insight into how prison libraries are provided in the US.