Prison Library Sub-Committee

Access to reading materials and library services is poor for Saskatchewan’s incarcerated population. The Saskatchewan Library Association (SLA) established a Prison Library Sub-Committee (under its Advocacy & Development committee) in 2021 to address the deficit of reading materials available to incarcerated youths and adults in Saskatchewan’s correctional facilities.

Literacy activities and reading materials positively affect the lives and experiences of both incarcerated individuals and correctional staff. They also serve an important role in reintegration, providing a connection to and mirror of the outside world, and preparing individuals for release.

Current Activities

The Prison Library Sub-Committee is currently partnered with the Regina Correctional Center, the White Birch Remand Centre and the Paul Dojack Youth Center and is providing incarcerated people at these facilities with reading materials through regular book drop-offs.

Call for Donations

The Prison Library Sub-Committee will be collecting book donations at the 2024 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference! Committee members will be available to accept donated items on Thursday, May 2 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm in the Capital A Room at the DoubleTree Hotel in Regina, SK. All book donations must meet the donation requirements outlined below. If you have any questions, please contact Prison Library Sub-Committee Chair Marika Hunter by emailing marikahunter@gmail.com.

We need books for adult and young adult audiences. Donated books must be:

1. Paperback
2. In good condition, and
3. Not overtly violent in nature.

There is a particular need for and interest in self-help, memoirs and biographies, and books by Indigenous authors. To donate books, please contact Prison Library Sub-Committee Chair Marika Hunter by emailing marikahunter@gmail.com.

SLA is also accepting monetary donations, which will be used to purchase books that have been specifically requested by correctional staff and/or incarcerated persons. To make a monetary donation, please fill out our online donation form and indicate that you want your donation to go to the Prison Library Sub-Committee.

Call for Volunteers

The Prison Library Sub-Committee is looking for more members and book party volunteers as it seeks to expand its services to other correctional facilities in the province. Committee members guide the operations and decision-making for current partnerships with correctional facilities and investigate the possibilities of new partnerships. Book party volunteers help coordinate and deliver physical materials to correction centres.

Please contact the SLA office by emailing info@saskla.ca if you are interested in making a meaningful impact on the lives of the province’s incarcerated population, either as a committee member or as a volunteer.

Please note that committee members must be SLA members, whether through an individual membership or through their organization’s institutional membership. SLA membership is not required to join as a volunteer. Click here to register as an individual member.