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No 14 - The Library – a normal room in prison

The aim of this report is to demonstrate the important place that libraries have in Norwegian prisons, and it contains background information, statistics and articles to illustrate the point.  The report also presents poems, photographs and articles that describe some of the prisoners themselves or are produced by them.

“I see the writing on the wall”, exclaims Morten, tapping his finger on the table to emphasize his point: “Slowly but surely it all disappears.  It happens so slowly, no one says anything, and then suddenly one day the library is gone.  Of course, what’s the point of having a library in Norway anyway – just for the sake of it maybe?  Or should you maybe consider instead that what you find in the library gives people a better life?” (Quote from a prisoner in Oslo Prison)

Section 2 in the Law on Public Libraries contains the statement that “The activities of the public libraries shall also include the provision of library services for patients in hospital and other medical institutions, and others for whom it is especially difficult to use the library, including the provision of prison library services”.  Since 1979, when trial operations of prison library services began, the responsibility for public library services in the prisons has rested with central government.  Prisoners’ rights to such services are encoded in the Library Act and  the Execution of Sentences Act.  The availability of library services in the prisons is the joint responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.  In 2004, only 12 prisons were included in the public funding agreement and, furthermore, over recent years the grants awarded to these libraries have not kept pace with the average wage and price increases.

Section 4 of the Execution of Sentences Act defines the joint administrative responsibility as follows: “The Norwegian Correctional Services shall by engaging in cooperation with other public services arrange for convicted persons and persons in custody on remand to receive the services to which they are statutorily entitled.  Such cooperation shall lead to a coordinated effort to supply the needs of convicted persons and persons in custody on remand and to assist them to adjust to society.”

Restrictions are placed on prisoners’ freedom of movement, and there are only a few prisoners who, by virtue of their custodial environment, are able to enjoy access to normal public services, among them the services of the public library.  These restrictions on the prisoners’ freedom of movement do not, however, limit their rights to avail themselves of public services and facilities, a point which is discussed in the Report to the Storting No. 27 (1997-98) in respect of The Norwegian Correctional Services.  The prisons are working with a variety of public bodies with a view to making available to the prisoners the public services and facilities to which they have a claim under Norwegian law.  This combined effort is termed “the Import Model” since the services are in fact brought into the prisons for the use of the prisoners.  The Report to the Storting underlines the fact that fighting crime is the responsibility of all of society, requiring the involvement of different administrative levels and sectors. 

Chapter 7.8.1 of the Report to the Storting no. 27 concerning The Norwegian Correctional Services makes the following statement: “The legislation is based on the principle that the nation’s citizens all share the same rights to public services and facilities, and share the same duties and the same responsibilities.  It is a basic principle that persons with a criminal conviction do not lose their ordinary rights and duties as citizens during the term of their sentence ...”; furthermore it states that “The fight against crime is not the sole responsibility of the various departments involved with criminal justice, but rather is a societal responsibility requiring the involvement of different administrative levels and sectors.   It is the overall responsibility of the government to establish effective arrangements for the administrative co-operation of this kind, and to co-ordinate the efforts aimed at fighting crime”.  The reasons for the choice of the Import Model are laid out in Chapter 1.7 of the Report to the Storting no. 27:  “Experience has shown that authorities with the warrant, resources and competence deliver the best services within their area of administration....” provided that there is “..... continuing co-operation across the areas of administration, with the ministries deciding the main strategies and undertaking the required co-ordination of the regulatory framework”.

Library services for prisoners are brought in by the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs which is in charge of the library services available to the nation’s other citizens through the public libraries.  The Library Act states that the library services are applicable to all those who reside in the country.  Section 1, paragraph 1 states that “Public libraries shall be responsible for promoting knowledge, education and other cultural activities by providing access to information and by making available books and other suitable material, free of charge, to everyone residing in the Realm”.  Section 2, paragraph 2 specifies that those who have special difficulties in using the public library are still entitled to library services: “The activities of public libraries also include services for patients in hospitals and medical institutions, and others who have particular difficulty in using a library.”

In Proposition no. 14 to the Odelsting (1985-86) concerning the Law on Public Libraries, Chapter 4 - “State duties”, special reference is made to the prisons: “The duties of the State are linked first and foremost to the task of ensuring the greatest equality possible in the provision of  library services to all those residing in the Realm, and to the fulfilment of the other national library policy aims.  It is the duty of the State to help prepare the way for the development of new services and work practices.  The State is responsible for the provision of library services to public institutions such as particular hospitals, and to the prisons.

In accordance with the Education Act, prisoners are entitled to receive training, and in addition to having access to public library services, they are also entitled to have access to appropriate libraries when participating in a training programme.  The Act also states that “The pupils shall have access to a school library” (sic) (Act relating to Primary and Secondary Education, Chapter 9, Section 9-2).  The Regulations relating to the Education Act Section 21 stressthat schools should have a school library unless access to a school library is provided through a co-operative agreement with other libraries. “The school should contain a school library unless access to a school library is ensured through the co-operation with other libraries. Libraries not situated within the school premises should be accessible to the pupils during normal school hours so that the library may be used for active learning at school.  The library should be specially adapted for the school”.

School libraries are under the authority of the Ministry of Education and Research; they run their own budgets and produce their own statistics.  “School”, or more accurately the educational library services in prisons, represent a neglected area, with little co-operation between the activities of the public libraries and the educational libraries. The public libraries that offer services in the prisons also provide services to prisoners participating in training courses.

In 2004, there were in Norway 12 prison institutions, with a total of 13 libraries, that were included in the remit of the publicly funded library services.   For those libraries included in the arrangement, there is full state funding of the prison library’s operating costs.  The services are bought by central government from the local authorities where the prison libraries are geographically located, with the size of the grant determining the parameters of the operations and the activities of the individual prison libraries.

In practice, the ministries work out the division of responsibilities through fixed arrangements, with the public libraries in the main supplying specialist library staff, books, reference works and periodicals, and the prison being responsible for the premises, equipment and other necessary aids, as well as newspaper subscriptions.

Two types of arrangement form the basis for the provision of library services in the prisons:

• An agreement between central government, through the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority (previously the Norwegian Directorate for Public Libraries) and the municipality which will carry out the library services,
• An agreement between the public library of the individual municipality and the prison.

The two types of agreement have been largely standardized and include a one year term of notice.  From the outset, the development of library services in the prison libraries have been a co-operative venture between the Correctional Services department of the Ministry of Justice and the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority.  When new prisons are built, or old ones enlarged, space is always provided for a library.  However, these premises are often used for other purposes while the arrival of library services is awaited.

Requirements and resources

Important challenges remain to be overcome to meet the needs for library services to prisoners in Norwegian prisons.  The issues include the extension of the public funding agreement to provide more prison libraries, and the improvement of the budgets of the existing prison libraries and the services they offer.  Many institutions have waited many years for a library, and there is a great need for more prison libraries. In many municipalities where the prison is not included in the public funding arrangement, library services to prisoners are financed through the public libraries’ own budgets.  But in the prison libraries that are included in the central government funding arrangement the situation is also difficult; funding increases have not kept up with wage rises and other expenses.  In addition to the normal wage increases, prison librarians have been awarded pay supplements for high risk employment, although no allowance has been made in the budgets for this extra cost.  The price of books has also risen faster than average prices.   In reality, expenses are increasing more quickly than the overall budget is growing, a situation with consequences for the purchase of materials, the number of personnel, opening hours and the services available in the prison libraries.  The necessary reductions in library provisions has meant that the quality of library services to prisoners have deteriorated over the past few years.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has drawn up a set of Guidelines for Library services to Prisoners.  Norway is way behind the recommendations in the Guidelines in respect of the availability of library services in prisons.  In fact, Norway is in breach of several international agreements to which it is a signatory, in failing to provide prisoners with the library services to which they are entitled under the terms of the agreements.  There is thus a need to increase the grants to the prison libraries that are already included in the state funding agreement.

The Report to the Storting no. 48 (2002-2003) on Cultural Policy up to 2014 discusses the difficult situation of the prison libraries.  Chapter 11.5.3.5 which deals with Special Library Services states that “The increase in wage levels and other expenditure has led to a more difficult  environment for the existing services”.  Under the same heading it is stated that “As a part of future work on planning and development there is a need to carry out an overview of the need for those special library services for which the state is wholly or partly responsible, including a consideration as to whether the existing divisions of responsibility and the organisation of the services together represent the most rational and user friendly option.”   This work will be elaborated in the Library Report, the objectives of which include the development of an overall strategy document outlining the unified development of the library sector.  The strategy document is due by the 1st May, 2006.