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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Questions to Minors

6. “Do you like to read?” 91%

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

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

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Questions to Faculty & Staff

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

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

15. 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.

16. 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?