The Role of the Law Library in Serving Incarcerated Individuals — from sr.ithaka.org by Tammy Ortiz & Ess Pokornowski
Announcing a New IMLS-Funded Project
In a new project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), we will examine the national landscape of access to legal information for people who are incarcerated and the current state of the field of law librarianship in facilitating access to the law for the justice-impacted population. This project will build on exploratory research to document the different types of libraries involved in providing services to incarcerated patrons and the challenges and opportunities they face.
We will explore the following research questions:
- What legal services and information can individuals who are incarcerated currently access?
- What are the benefits and costs of increasing access to the law for persons who are incarcerated and their communities?
- What role do institutions play when providing or allowing access to the law for individuals who are incarcerated?
- How do policies and practices in place disrupt or promote access?
- How can we design services and model solutions that incorporate best practices and overcome barriers that limit access to and use of legal resources and information?