Note: Please see the revised timeline in my chapter on Carceral Histories in the United States.
I’ve created a timeline of library services to incarcerated people beginning with the first library committee on the topic that I could locate (1911) through the creation of ALA’s most recent version of the standards for service to correctional institutions (1992). You can access the work in progress at
The Reference Librarian and Taylor & Francis will be providing free access to the article I recently published with Dr. Melissa Villa-Nicholas. You can access the article at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02763877.2019.1645077 through December 31, 2019.
Title: Information Provision and the Carceral State: Race and Reference beyond the Idea of the “Underserved”
Abstract: This article addresses an approach to library services for people who are incarcerated that meets the situated information needs and desires of people within jails and prisons. By creating a flow of information between LIS students and individuals who are incarcerated through a Reference by Mail program, resources available to incarcerated people are increased while students engage in a humanizing and self-reflexive project, with the understanding that the regulation of information within jails and prisons has lasting effects for the life chances of incarcerated people.
The use of “they” as a nonbinary pronoun has official been added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary as of September 17!
Inspired by a very successful Name and Gender Marker Legal Clinic held at San Francisco Public Library, I’ve created a guide for other librarians interested in hosting similar clinics. The guide is available to download at Name and Gender Marker Legal Clinics at the Public Library.
I’m honored that my interview with youth in San Francisco has been posted on LitTV.
LitTV is a series of video documents in collaboration with San Francisco Bay Area teens, exploring connections between fire and knowledge, showcasing some of the unique features and personalities that make up the San Francisco Public Library, and the vital role that librarians play in their communities. It is produced by the artist Minerva Cuevas for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Public Knowledge initiative.
Thank you to Minerva Cuevas and the amazing SF youth!
Jeanie Austin, PhD 