A sunny start to June saw Jacky Mathewson come and talk to
CILIP in the Thames Valley about her varied career and, more specifically,
about her work in prison libraries. She started with an inspirational quote
from an ex-colleague and Young Librarian of the Future 06/07, Simon Smith,
which she felt summed up how she felt about working in public libraries, and
probably struck a chord with every librarian in the room:
“I love being part of a public space and organisation which
people can use in so many ways – for help, relaxation and enjoyment.
Libraries are important because no one else offers access, help, inspiration
and education to everyone without asking for anything in return.”
Jacky started her career working for The Economist Intelligence Unit, then moved onto the Arts Council of Great Britain, then
as a freelance researcher’s assistant.
She finally found herself in Holloway Prison library for
eight hours a week. Initially the prisoners were not able to benefit fully from
the prison library; her job there was to try and help the women find books they
would like, but with timetable restrictions she found herself with five minutes
to help 20 inmates find a book. Needless to say, this had to change. They
managed to make the library part of the ‘free-flow’ schedule, meaning that
ladies who wanted to, could stay in the library for the entire two-hour period.
This meant she could work with them on reader development. She also ran a
course for the inmate library assistants so that they could show they had been
doing something of worth while they were inside. She was dealing with women
from wide ranging backgrounds, including non-English speaking women who had
been caught drug smuggling to support their families, so many were in shock
once they had landed inside. Understandably this was problematic in trying to
find books they could connect with.
After a move to Reading, Jacky then found herself working
part-time on the reference desk of Reading Central Library, a job which she
enjoyed for its variety, with enquires ranging from wedding speeches to spider
identification, and everything in between! This then merged with other reader
services and she was put in control of acquiring the library’s stock of large
print and spoken word, and she started a reading group for visually impaired
people.
After seeking out more hours she was given shared care of
the library within what used to be Reading Gaol, of Oscar Wilde fame, and which
is now an institution for male young offenders. If the history of the
institution interests you, Anthony Stokes, an ex-officer of the prison, has
written a book, entitled Pit of shame (Winchester:Waterside Press, 2007). However, in the present day, what used to be the
old chapel is now the recreation area, and the library is housed there. With no
computer, a thorough knowledge of their stock is required, so they can keep
track of the boys’ favourite titles.
They are dealing with some low levels of literacy so they
have started a number of initiatives to encourage these boys to use the service;
they regularly put together games packs, with word searches, spot the
difference, and other puzzles. They also run the SixBooks Challenge every year, in which participants try to read six books,
and write a small piece about them. At the end they receive a reward and a
certificate which means a lot to boys who find reading a struggle.
They also run the Storybook Dads
scheme, where a recording is made of an inmate reading a children’s story,
which is then edited together with sound effects and sent to their child.
However, in the prison service, inmates can be moved with little notice so
organising future individual activities can be a struggle.
In segregation there are no televisions, so they always
ensure these boys have access to games and books and, unsurprisingly, they are
always welcomed! One of the great successes was a talk Jacky organised by Andy
McNab, an author the boys like - no mean feat, as for obvious reasons, the
security protocols in a young offenders’ institution are rather stringent.
There is a prison librarian’s network which offers valuable training and support; all prisons have libraries though they vary
greatly.
Many
thanks to Jacky for such an interesting insight into this unusual branch of
librarianship.
