What is the initiative and where is it implemented (city or country)?
The maximum prison sentence in Norway is 21 years. In the final three years of a sentence, the inmate is eligible to be transferred to Bastøy prison, located on Bastøy Island in the Oslo Fiord of Horten municipality. Bastøy prison is a multi-building complex and a working farm and timber operation where inmates work and some have privileges to leave the prison to attend school or work on the mainland during the day. Organized as a small island community, the prison infrastructure includes about 80 buildings, roads, beach zones, a cultural landscape, a football field, agricultural land and forest.
Most of the prisons in Norway have libraries for inmates. Bastøy prison, however, is noted for its library. The prison director, Tina Hansen, was awarded the 2016 Library Award by the Vestdfold County section of the Norwegian Library Association for her work on the Bastøy Prison Library.
How was the initiative established? How was it implemented?
Prison libraries typically operate as branches of local public libraries and often contain only a small collection of books, DVDs, and audiobooks of their own. The Bastøy Prison Library, a small building in the prison complex, allows prisoners to borrow books from any library in the country.
The library is staffed by four inmates as a part of the prison’s work scheme. A librarian from Horten library works in the prison twice a week; the inmates cover the rest of the week. The collection includes easy-to-read materials for inmates who are dyslexic or just learning to read and books in several languages. The National Library also runs a service that supplies books in 70 different languages to public libraries in Norway. This is particularly beneficial as inmates come from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and may speak as many as 20-30 languages collectively.
Readers form reading clubs and discussion groups to exchange information and ideas. Coffee and tea are available during opening hours. The library is equipped with computers and printers with open access. The library also organizes events such as movie screenings and occasional musical festivals.
Library services are provided by the local Horten Public Library and the prison library is operated by professional librarians. The Norwegian National Library pays their salaries and finances library resources. The public library system employs the prison librarian, who has a degree of independence in making decisions on the library collection and activities.
Which stakeholders are involved in the design and/or implementation of the initiative? Which sectors do they represent?
The prison library operates with an ‘import model’ – as a branch of a public library, it can loan the prisoners books sourced from any library in Norway. The Bastøy prison library has a small but varied collection of educational resources – books, magazines, DVDs and audiobooks. There is limited access to online materials and educational programmes, though the system intends to expand inmates’ digital access in 2020.
What are the impacts of the initiative in terms of facilitating lifelong learning? Who does it benefit and how?
The Bastøy prison operates on a principle of normalcy, designed to help prisoners rehabilitate and live peaceably in society when they are released. The prison prepares inmates for everyday life outside of prison and ensures their successful reintegration into society. The prison library is instrumental in this process. Before being incarcerated, many inmates had no experience using libraries. During their sentence, they gain this crucial skill and often continue using library resources when they are released.
The prison staff is guided by ‘human-ecological thinking’ when operating the prison, meaning that the relationships between people and their social and artificially created environments are of utmost importance to this community. The staff members must comprehend eco-farming and recycling, and work constantly towards minimizing CO2 emissions. These values extend to the inmate community that participates in the collective effort to create and support sustainable practices on the island.
References:
Bolt, N. & Ra, E., 2018. A Visit to Bastøy Prison Library in Norway. International Leads, Chicago, 33(2), p. 11.
Krolak, L. 2019. Books Beyond Bars: The transformative potential of prison libraries. [online]
Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000369835 [Accessed 9 September 2020].