Prison Libraries Group Newsletter

AUGUST 2019********************************************************************************’*

Newsletter Contents:Networking Reading in Prisons EventHardman Directory Contact DetailsTraining Day 2019 Evaluation Report

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When the group committee reviews the feedback from the training day, one word always predominates – NETWORKING. This year, almost half of the respondents stated that one of their objectives for attending the day was to network with other prison library staff.

Why is networking important?Networking with others is one of the key ways of developing good practice and improving our skills. There is so much that we can learn from exchanging ideas and experiences with others working in the same field. Working in a prison library can be very isolating. You might have an understanding manager and supportive colleagues within your organisation, but there is only so much that you can share with them. Being able to talk something through with someone who works in a prison library and understands the day to day pressures is really helpful and goes some way towards combatting the isolation.

Why don’t we do more networking?These days, we are all having to do more with less – fewer staff, less time. Years ago, most of our business was done either face to face or by phone, so it was much easier to get to know people – networks used to evolve naturally. Now, of course we rely on email etc. and so don’t get to know people in the same way, and there are far fewer face to face meetings.

What can I do about it?Well, you could sit back and wait for the next training day, or you could start building your own network. Here are a few tips – some of them are very obvious, but I’ve included them because we so often miss the obvious:

Make the first moveHow many times have we all come back from a training event thinking “tomorrow, I’m going to get in touch with…….” Then we arrive at work to an inbox full of emails, and by the time we have caught up, we’re back in our usual working rhythm and the moment has gone. We sit back and wait for someone to contact us. The only way to get over this is to do it! Decide who you want to contact – someone you met at the training day, someone who works in the same type of prison as you, or someone working close by. Pick up the phone or send an email and introduce yourself. The worst thing that can happen is that the person says they haven’t got time to talk to you or doesn’t respond to your email. If that happens, just try someone else. The best thing that can happen is that you connect with someone and the ideas start flowing between you. There really is nothing to lose – just do it!

Start a regional networkA good few years ago, there were several regional prison library networks. These were informal networks set up by library staff. They would meet up a couple of times a year and keep in touch regularly in between. These days, prison library provision is more fragmented so there are not the natural networks that existed when provision was through local library providers. However, there is still a lot of value in working closely with people in the same area. You don’t have to meet face-to-face – it can simply be an email group. All it takes is someone to start the ball rolling, and that could be you!

Join prisons JiscmailPrisons Jiscmail is a free email discussion list which aims to share information and good practice for those working in or interested in prison libraries. The list is managed by John Vincent who also manages The Network – Tackling Social Inclusion. There are two ways of joining the list – you can go to the Jiscmail website: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=PRISONS and register, or you can email John direct: john@nadder.org.uk and he will add you to the list. (John also offers signers-up the Network Ebulletin, which is also free. The Network produces a regular Ebulletin (roughly every two to three weeks) which includes brief information about reports, news-items and other useful material, plus a weblink). Once you’ve signed up, you can join in email discussions and post your own queries to the list. Sign up and be part of the conversation!

Get the most from your CILIP subscriptionAs a CILIP member, you are already part of a huge professional network. Once you have signed in to the CILIP website, you can connect with other members. It’s also now free to join any of the special interest groups. All you have to do is sign in and click on the name of the group you want to join. You might think that some of the groups are not all that relevant to prisons, but we can all learn from good practice in other sectors of the profession. You will automatically be a member of your regional CILIP network which brings together people from all sectors. It can be worth going along to their meetings to find out what’s going on in your region. You might not meet many prison librarians, but you will make a lot of potentially useful contacts.

Sign up for mailing listsA lot of organisations, such as the National Literacy Trust, Reading Agency, Prisoners’ Education Trust have mailing lists. Sign up for them to keep up with what’s going on.

Share your successIf you’ve just completed a project, found a way round a difficult problem or just want to talk about your service, why not write an article for this newsletter? If you do, you will be surprised at how many people will get in touch with you!

Social MediaNetworking by social media is the norm these days, but it’s an area fraught with difficulty for prison libraries. Some prisons have their own Twitter accounts now, so if your prison has one, it’s worth engaging with whoever manages it so that you can ask them to tweet information about the library. The Prison Libraries Group has a twitter account - @prisonlibraries, so please follow us! Using your personal social media accounts to talk about your work is not recommended. For further information about prison libraries and social media please refer to the Prison Libraries Training Pack which can be found on the PrLG website.

These are just a few ideas which may help you to embed networking into your working practice – it doesn’t have to be just a once a year thing!

Sue WilkinsonPrLG Chair

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READING IN PRISON

ANNUAL EVENT

FRIDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2019University of Roehampton

London SW15 5PH

Prison Reading Groups (PRG) and Give a Book are holding their annual Reading in Prison event on Friday, September 6th 2019, 10.00am-5.30pm at the University of Roehampton, London SW15 5PU.

The day will celebrate what books can do in prison and explore and debate the obstacles from both sides – organisations trying to run reading initiatives and the prison staff who make them happen. Speakers include Alli Black, Deputy Governor of HMP Kirkham, and award-winning author Patrice Lawrence.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reading-in-prison-day-2019-registration-63981293772

http://prisonreadinggroups.org.uk/reading-in-prison-day-2019/ www.prisonreadinggroups.org.uk

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Prison Libraries Group Training Day 2019 Evaluation Report

VALUE ADDED –HOW EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES CAN ENHANCE YOUR PRISON LIBRARYThe committee have compiled the following report using the delegate feedback forms completed on 5th June.47 delegates attended and 35 completed an evaluation form.

The various facilities provided at the event:Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor

Overall impression 21 14 0 0Venue 23 12 0 0Catering 14 17 4 0

Creative Writing in the Prison LibraryExcellent Good Satisfactory Poor26 9 0 0

Reading Friends in PrisonExcellent Good Satisfactory Poor11 16 7 1

Streetlaw: PrisonsExcellent Good Satisfactory Poor14 18 3 0

Putting On a ShowExcellent Good Satisfactory Poor21 13 1 0

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The 2019/20 Hardman Directory is now available. Copies should have arrived with the August edition of

the Inside Times.

You can also have a PDF of the new edition today via https://www.hardmantrust.org.uk/directory/

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Just a reminder that you can read all the CILIP Prison Libraries Group latest newsletters on our website. Here is a link to the June newsletter: https://www.cilip.org.uk/resource/group/853bf809-d9aa-4165-8789-1cacd728e4ad/news/newsletter_june_4.docx

Please see the article in this newsletter penned by the group Chairperson, Sue, in response to the high number of delegates asking for some further information/advice on Networking.

The committee wishes to thank the delegates that took the time to complete a feedback form. The information is valuable in assisting with the planning of future group training days.

We try to make our newsletters as interesting and relevant as possible and welcome comments and contributions.

The next edition will be coming soon so if you'd like to contribute anything please get in touch with David.Herd@GLL.ORG