Exploring Juvenile Justice Facility Library Provision in Australia and South Carolina, USA

Abstract

This chapter explores the provision of library services to children residing in juvenile justice facilities. The small body of scholarly literature published on the topic over the last 50 years is examined, followed by a description of the findings of a recent Australian survey of juvenile justice library provision in that country. Australia presents a very poor example of the provision of library services to children living in correctional detention. A contrast to the Australian context is provided through a case study of the library service to the South Carolina Birchwood School, in the United States. Housed in the South Carolina Juvenile Justice Centre, the Birchwood School library is presented as an example of better practice and an illustration of what can be achieved by a juvenile justice facility library when it is sufficiently staffed and funded. Opportunities for further research are identified and conclusions are drawn regarding the need for libraries in juvenile justice facilities.

Citation

Garner, J. (2021), "Exploring Juvenile Justice Facility Library Provision in Australia and South Carolina, USA", Garner, J. (Ed.) Exploring the Roles and Practices of Libraries in Prisons: International Perspectives (Advances in Librarianship, Vol. 49), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 157-181. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0065-283020210000049009