This is a phenomenological study on the experience prison inmates at Sweden's largest prison, Kumla, have of their prison library. Conversations in five focus groups with a total of 26 inmates, that took place in the last two months of 2023, form the foundation of the findings in this study. A qualitative thematic analysis shows that the inmates' experience of the prison library consist of four separate, but equally important, parts. The first part is the librarian, who the inmates see as someone neutral and willing to help. The second part is the usage of the prison library’s services, which manifests in reading books and magazines borrowed from the library, an activity that allows for feelings of cognitive escape. The third part is the visit to the physical library, which functions as a grativational pull away from a life of crime and towards a better life. The fourth part is comprised of the benefits the prison library have in terms of rehabilitation, the value the library brings for the future of the inmates. This study concludes that a prison library can have positive impacts on the inmates' lives, during incarceration and after release. This is a two years master's thesis in Library and Information Science.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-532448 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Persson, Mattias |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Uppsatser inom biblioteks- & informationsvetenskap, 1650-4267 ; 917 |
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