Prisoners' Right to Read: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights

The American Library Association strongly believes in protecting intellectual freedom for all, regardless of age or location. This includes people held in:

  • Jails
  • Prisons
  • Detention centers
  • Juvenile facilities
  • Immigration centers
  • Prison work camps
  • Segregated units within any facility
  • Any other type of facility—whether public or private.

As Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once wrote:

When the prison gates slam behind an inmate, he does not lose his human quality; his mind does not become closed to ideas; his intellect does not cease to feed on a free and open interchange of opinions; his yearning for self-respect does not end; nor is his quest for self-realization concluded. If anything, the needs for identity and self-respect are more compelling in the dehumanizing prison environment.1

In a democracy, everyone needs open access to various kinds of information:

  • social
  • political
  • legal
  • economic
  • cultural
  • scientific
  • religious

Having access to the same information as those outside of a carceral facility is essential to a successful transition to freedom. Learning to thrive in a free society requires access to a wide range of knowledge. Suppression of ideas does not prepare incarcerated people of any age for life in a free society. Even those who will never leave prison require access to books and information in any format, so that they may have a window into the world.

Just because material contains unpopular views or is considered offensive doesn't mean it should be censored.2 Censorship is when authorities decide to block certain ideas or viewpoints. Unlike censorship, selection is a process of inclusion. It's about seeking out a diverse range of ideas in any format. The carceral library collection, like all library collections, should reflect the needs of its community.

Carceral libraries and their staff may be required to prohibit materials that promote illegal acts or harm. These restrictions are because of the following:

  • Federal, state, or local laws
  • Administrative rules
  • Court decisions

Staff should only restrict items posing a real and imminent risk to safety and security. These limiting factors may reduce available materials. However, following the Library Bill of Rights and its interpretations can help minimize the impact.

Use these principles to serve people who are incarcerated or detained. They apply to everyone, regardless of their citizenship status or if they've been convicted of a crime.

  • Collection Management: Libraries should follow a written policy for how to maintain their collections. Library workers and carceral administrators should agree on the policy. The policy should align with the Library Bill of Rights and its interpretations.
  • Challenges Procedures: If someone challenges a library item, the library should have written procedures to follow. This includes a policy that explains what makes an item unacceptable.3
  • Materials Selection: Library workers should select materials based on the people they serve. This means choosing items that reflect their backgrounds, information needs, interests, and diverse cultural values.
  • Acquisition Independence: Library workers should be able to acquire materials that meet written selection criteria. Carceral agency review should not be required during acquisition. Material selection should not be limited to a pre-approved list of materials or vendors.
  • Language Diversity: Library workers should provide materials to meet the information needs of people who read in languages other than English.
  • Findability: Library workers should have enough support to make it easy for people to find library resources.
  • Age: Incarcerated children and youth should have access to a wide range of fiction and nonfiction. Age is not a sufficient reason for censorship.4
  • Disability Access: Equitable access to information should be provided for people with disabilities.5
  • Non-traditional Bindings: Libraries should avoid banning materials with non-traditional bindings. The exception would be if they pose real and imminent risk to safety and security.
  • Sexual Content: Material with sexual content should not be banned unless it violates state or federal law.
  • Digital literacy: Digital literacy skills are crucial in society today. Libraries should offer training to help incarcerated people learn how to become digitally literate.6
  • Digital access: Incarcerated people should have access to digital services and materials at no cost. Incarcerated people should have controlled access to digital legal resources. These legal resources should include legal databases. Access to the internet should only be limited as required by law or sentencing restrictions.
  • External Material Access: Incarcerated or detained people should be able to acquire materials from outside of the carceral facility.

When free people, through judicial procedure, segregate some of their own, they incur the duty to provide humane treatment and essential rights. Among these are the rights to read and to access information. The right to choose what to read is crucial, and the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. The denial of intellectual freedom—the right to read, to write, and to think—reduces the humanity of those segregated from society.

1Procunier v Martinez, 416 U.S. 428 (1974)

2 28 CFR 540.71(b): “The Warden may not reject a publication solely because its content is religious, philosophical, political, social or sexual, or because its content is unpopular or repugnant.”

3 “Challenged Resources: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” adopted June 25, 1971 by the ALA Council; amended July 1, 1981; January 10, 1990; January 28, 2009; July 1, 2014; and January 29, 2019.

4 “Access to Library Resources and Services for Minors: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” adopted June 30, 1972, by the ALA Council; amended July 1, 1981; July 3, 1991; June 30, 2004; July 2, 2008 under previous name "Free Access to Libraries for Minors"; July 1, 2014; and June 25, 2019.

5 “Services to People with Disabilities: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights,” adopted January 28, 2009, by the ALA Council under the title "Services to Persons with Disabilities"; amended June 26, 2018.

6 A person who has the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.

Adopted June 29, 2010, by the ALA Council; amended July 1, 2014; January 29, 2019; and January 26, 2025.