Did you know that one of the responsibilities of the Indiana State Library’s regional coordinators is visiting correctional facilities within their region? Our newest Southwest regional coordinator Meg Adams and I will be visiting one of these institutions this coming Friday. I like to accompany new regional coordinators, or ask one of the other coordinators to go with them on their first visit, because it can be a bit intimidating.
Most correctional facilities don’t employ librarians with a Master of Library Science degree, so the regional coordinators visit the correctional facilities in their region to consult with the person who oversees the library and see if they need any support from the Indiana State Library. They also send a letter to the library staff after confirming their visit which is required so the facility can maintain their accreditation through the American Correctional Association.
Another ACA requirement for library staff in correctional facilities is to obtain a certain number of continuing education credits. To help with this, the Indiana State Library’s Professional Development Office has planned the last two Institutional Workshops to share Indiana State Library resources as well as bring in outside presenters to speak about other topics of interest related to their jobs.
Last year, we invited representatives from the Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support – or IRACS – to speak. This program works directly with the institutions to provide peer support and community resources to make reentry easier for those who are leaving incarceration. IRACS started in 2022 as a pilot program with the Family Social Services Administration for Indiana in five counties – Blackford, Daviess, Dearborn, Delaware and Scott. Services have continued for the original five counties, and they have added Clark and Fayette counties. There are an additional 12 counties in progress and eighteen other counties who are interested in IRACS. Visit this map to see if your county is one of these counties. You can learn more about the re-entry program and how it works by visiting their website. Indiana is making great strides by offering this program because 62.5% complete the program and the recidivism rate is 13%.
Indiana State Library also offers interlibrary loan services to institutions so they can request books to supplement their collections. Another service the Indiana State library offers is the Read to Me literacy program facilitated by Terry Black. It provides children’s books, cassette tapes, CD-ROMS, CD Sleeves, mailing envelopes and postage for mailing the tapes/CD-ROMs with cases, and books to the facilities that participate. The Read to Me program provides a chance for the child and their parent to have a shared reading and learning experience.
The Indiana State Library is committed to supporting correctional facility libraries and enhancing the educational opportunities for both staff and inmates.
This blog post was submitted by Kara Cleveland, Professional Development Office supervisor at the Indiana State Library.