Introducing our new prison library service…encouraging rehabilitation through reading

Last year Edinburgh Libraries worked closely with the Scottish Prison Service and designers CuriousGroup to create a brand new library at Saughton Prison, HMP Edinburgh.   We’re very proud of this project and wanted to share our progress with you…   

The old library service was located in a small space within the Education Department of Saughton Prison and was managed by a Prison Officer rather than a Librarian.  It was failing to meet the diverse needs of prisoners and required a complete overhaul to take it into the 21st century.  We all recognised the potential of the prison library service to encourage rehabilitation and change the lives of prisoners and their families for the better, so a plan was put in place to relocate the library to a larger more welcoming space, to improve the range of services, and resources on offer and to involve prisoners in the process in the hope that it encouraged ownership of the project. 

Kate King, originally from Sighthill Library in Edinburgh was heavily involved in the planning process and was appointed to the post of Prison Librarian prior to the opening of the new library.  The library has been extraordinarily well received by prisoners, staff, and external partners;   membership has increased by 100% and book issues are constantly rising.  Early indications also show that the new stock, which the prisoners helped to develop, is helping to draw in men who have never before visited a library service and those with no or very little literacy skills.  

In addition to teaching prisoners valuable life skills the new library also offers prisoners opportunities to learn how to read and write and use computers effectively.   Some prisoners now work full time in the library, taking on the role of Library Assistants and it’s hoped that they will eventually be able to complete a certificate in Library & Information Science.

In the future Kate is hoping to roll out the  Storybook Dads project, which encourages prisoners to record bedtime stories for their children to listen to at home, and the Reading Stars football initiative, which should help attract prisoners and their families to visit the library and participate in joint reading and learning sessions.    There are also plans to establish book groups and invite authors to talk at library events. 

We’re committed to developing and improving the library service at Saughton Prison and our key focus is on rehabilitation. It is our hope that by the time prisoners have completed their stay in prison they’ve had a chance to engage with the Prison Library service and an opportunity to learn essential life and social skills that will help them to reconnect with society and live full and rewarding lives.