Periodically, our library receives handwritten requests for information from individuals who are incarcerated at prisons and correctional facilities around the country.
We are an academic library at a private institution and our campus does not currently have a prison outreach program. As part of our ongoing social justice efforts within the library, we would like to be more purposeful about the way we handle these reference questions.
What are legal considerations we should keep in mind when providing reference services to incarcerated individuals? Ideally, we would want to treat these questions the same way we would questions from members of the general public. However, our team wants to be sure we understand whether there are ways we could unintentionally put ourselves or our institution at legal risk if we provide information that is somehow deemed problematic.
(Note: We are aware of the Prison Library Support Network and plan to participate in trainings they may offer.)
Thanks!