Incarcerated People Are Patrons Too! Improving Legal Information Services for Incarcerated People

There is a movement in public libraries across the country to improve access to information resources to incarcerated people, including legal information. While many academic and public law libraries are involved in assisting incarcerated people with legal information requests and reentry services, there are many barriers to good service including limited resources, jail/prison reading material restrictions, varying literacy levels, and methods of communication. The panel discussion will focus on understanding the barriers and utilizing best practices to better serve incarcerated people, coordinate community efforts between libraries and jails/prisons, and how to get started within our institutions to better serve justice involved patrons and their families to improve access to justice.

Target Audience:

Anyone who has an interest in serving incarcerated people with legal information. This will appeal to academic and public librarians who currently work with incarcerated patrons and want to better understand and improve services. It will also appeal to anyone who is interested in getting involved in legal information services to the incarcerated, including private librarians, chapter leaders, and those interested in social responsibility work.