Recent Publications

Book

Austin, J. (2022). Library services and incarceration: Recognizing barriers, strengthening access. Chicago: ALA Neal-Schuman. 

Journal Issue

Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy, Summer 2023, 8(2): Access to Information in Carceral Institutions. (Guest editor.)

White Papers

Through the Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People grant project:

Trends and Concerns in Library Services for Incarcerated People and People in the Process of Reentry: Publication Review (2020-2022).

Technology in Carceral Facilities: Trends, Limitations, and Opportunities for Libraries (2020-2022).

Peer-Reviewed

Austin, J. (in press). (invited contribution). Access. In n. cline & J.R. López-McKnight (eds.), Keywords in (critical) library information science/studies. MIT Press.

Jordan-Makely, C., Austin, J., Brammer, C., & Ness, N. (2025). “A collection of obstacles”: Qualitative findings from the 2020 Library Services and Incarceration survey. Library Quarterly, 95(3), 265-285.

Austin, J. and Jacobson, E. (2024). The incarcerated and formerly incarcerated. In C. Bomhold (ed.), Serving the underserved: Strategies for inclusive community engagement (pp. 177-196). ALA Neal-Schuman.

Keyes, O., & Austin, J. (2022). Feeling fixes: Mess and emotion in algorithmic audits. Big Data & Society, 9(2).

Austin, J. and Jacobson, E. (2021). Patron-centered services: Disrupting the narrative of reformation and reading in American jails and prisons. Exploring the roles and practices of libraries in prisons: International perspectives [special issue, J. Garner ed.]. Advances in Librarianship, 50, 291-309.

Austin, J., Charenko, M, Dillon, M. and Lincoln, J. (2020). Systemic oppression and the contested ground of information access for incarcerated people. Open Information Science, 4(1), 169-185.

Other Publications

Austin, J. (2026). Libraries increase services for incarcerated people. In the American Library Association report The State of America’s Libraries: A Snapshot of 2025, 13-15.

Austin, J. (2024). Preface. In E. Boyington, R. Horton, E.R. James, S. Olmeda, and V. van Hyning (eds.), Standards for library services for the incarcerated and detained (pp. ix-x). American Library Association.

Jordan-Makely, C., Austin, J., & Brammer, C. (2022). Growing services: How libraries outside of prison create access for incarcerated people. Library Journal, 147(8), 24-29.

Jordan-Makely, C. & Austin, J. (2021). Outside and in: Services for people impacted by incarceration. Library Journal, 146(9), 21-25.

Austin, J. (2020). Information access within carceral institutions. Feminist Media Studies, 20(8), 1293–1297.