A new website has been launched to provide resources for prison library staff and others involved in providing library services to people in prison and their families.
Prison libraries are a crucial service for people in prison, and the recently launched Prison Library Connect website supports the staff behind the provision by providing them with training, information and resources to better implement, improve and understand prison librarianship.
The website is also intended to be used by public libraries, volunteer organisations, prison educators, researchers, other prison workers and anyone else interested in advocating for prison libraries. It also houses a blog containing human stories from prison staff and researchers, as well as book reviews by library users.
Prison Library Connect is part of a Knowledge Exchange project between the University of Sheffield and the CILIP Prison Libraries Group. Both the website project and the research behind it are led by Dr Jayne Finlay, Lecturer in Librarianship in the School of Information, Journalism and Communication.
The genesis of the website came from discussions with prison library staff at an online research symposium in 2022, during which library staff were asked what they needed in order to further their professional engagement and development. Common themes were a feeling of isolation, a desire for sharing best practice with other staff in similar roles and a need for the ability to access information and resources to support the delivery of their service.
Dr Finlay said: "Library staff play a key but often overlooked role in supporting people in prison and their families. This role can be isolating with limited opportunities for professional support or networking. Prison Library Connect aims to provide those opportunities and offer a platform to share and celebrate the valuable work happening in prison libraries."
Another important piece of background work to the new site was the report ‘Prison library provision in England and Wales’, published by Dr Finlay and University Teacher Giulia Neri in May 2025. This piece of academic research surveyed prison libraries across England and Wales to assess perceptions of staffing levels, library access and use, training, and staff feeling towards how prison libraries are run.