American Library Association

ALA welcomes Prison Libraries Act

The American Library Association praised the Prison Libraries Act, introduced today by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO-5), along with co-leads Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), and Rep. Valerie Foushee ...
KETV Omaha

'It's vital': Former inmate advocates for access to library in prison

JOEY: BEHIND PRISON WALLS, THEER AREN’T MANY PLACES THAT FEEL LIKE A SAFE HAVEN. >> THAT’S HOW YOU GET OUT OF PRISON FOR THE DAY, BY PICKING UP A BOOK AND READING. JOEY: BUT FOR SCOTT SMITHO, SERVED A ...

Prison Libraries Act Aims To Reduce Recidivism Through Education and Literacy

The American Library Association (ALA) is backing new federal legislation to expand access to education, literacy, and ...
The Hill

Prison cell thought to be Malcolm X’s has been reinvented as a library for inmates, part of massive new campaign

Civil rights activist Malcolm X served time at a Massachusetts prison in the late 1940s, where he spent much of his time reading. A charity called Freedom Reads is now set to open its first prison ...
WBUR

Reginald Dwayne Betts is on a quest to build 1,000 micro-libraries in prisons across the U.S.

He's a poet, lawyer and MacArthur Genius Award-winner who served eight years in prison. Now, Reginald Dwayne Betts is building prison libraries. The first ever is here in Massachusetts, at the ...
Chicago Tribune

‘It’s the racial stuff’: Illinois prison banned, removed books on black history and empowerment from inmate education program

Officials at an Illinois prison suspended an educational program for inmates, launched two internal investigations and removed 200 books from a prison library because many had “racial” content or ...
NBC Connecticut

Lawmaker Wants Answers on Prison Library Policy

What a suspect in the Cheshire home invasion and slayings read from a prison library before being released has become an issue in his trial. Now, one state senator is looking for information on state ...