Reading and Library Use in Juvenile Halls by Michele Gibney Crime and Punishment Reading and Library Use in Juvenile Halls by Michele Gibney

Research Goals Determine how detained youth feel about juvenile hall and public libraries Discover whether on-site library availability affected their behavior while in detention Ascertain predilection for future public library use upon release Assess any improvement in reading habits

Survey Statistics 3 institutions surveyed: Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall (CA) Pima County Juvenile Detention Center (AZ) King County Youth Service Center (WA) 3 groups surveyed Minors (272) Faculty (14) Staff (80) Minors 272 total Contra Costa = 116 Pima = 82 King = 74 Median age = 15.97 82% male 18% female Faculty Contra Costa = 7 Pima = 7 Staff Contra Costa = 17 Pima = 63

Questions to Minors

“Do you like to read?” 91%

“Did you like to read before coming to juvenile hall?” 40%

“Do you go to the library on the outs?”

“Now that you’ve used the _________ Library, do you think you’ll visit the public library on the outs?”

Activities performed at public libraries: 16% 11% 31% 21% 5% Check out materials Read for fun Study with friends Use Internet Hang out with friends Ask questions of librarian

Reasons for not visiting the public library: 11% 38% 16% 4% Unable to get to library Not enough time Nothing for me Don’t need it Do work elsewhere Not open enough Didn’t know there was a library

Questions to Faculty & Staff

“Have you seen a difference in student behavior in the classroom since the library opened?”

“Have you seen a difference in student reading habits and levels since the library opened?”

Conclusion On-site library use is a benefit to teenagers in detention. It is shown to positively affect their behavioral attitudes and can also be seen as creating a drastic shift from youth who have no interest in reading to youth who enjoy reading and plan to continue visiting public libraries upon release.

Call For Further Research Is there a correlation between on-site library access in detention and recidivism rates? Does on-site library access help to improve the test scores of detained minors?