Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study

A report on the current state of library services, public and academic, to people incarcerated in United States prisons. The research was conducted to understand what kind of library programming and services exist for people in prison and to propose possible programming or services that Harvard University Library might initiate or collaborate on as community programming outreach.

Access services policies at academic archives in the United States are, in many ways, informed by carceral logics. This essay explores the ethical implications of upholding such policies for academic archives engaged in the growing realm of carceral collecting. Drawing from sources in trauma theory, abolitionist and Black feminism, and critical race theory, the possibility of providing equal access in an unequal society is questioned. Opportunities for further work to increase inclusivity at archives engaged in carceral collecting are offered. These suggestions are aligned with the goal of making archives documenting the history of incarceration and abolitionist thought and action accessible to the individuals for whom the material is most urgently needed to expedite their liberation.