Rae-Anne Montague, Joe Coyle, and Jeanie Austin Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Youth Empowerment.

Rae-Anne Montague, Joe Coyle, and Jeanie AustinGraduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Youth Empowerment in the Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center Library

ReferencesHayes, M. (2007). From State Policy to Classroom Practice: Improving Literacy Instruction for All Students. National Association of State Boards of Education. Alexandria, VA.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2009). Juvenile Justice 2008. Juvenile Justice Bulletin.

Vacca, J. (2008). Crime Can Be Prevented If Schools Teach Juvenile Offenders to Read. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 1055-1062

Next Steps• Continue building collaboration

• Collection development

• Create programming

• Fund raising

• Link to curriculum

• Develop youth-centered research

• Disseminate

Addressing the Information Needs of Youth in the Detention Center

• Provide access to a range of interesting and

relevant materials. 

• Hold book talks and discussion groups on

stories and themes that emphasize decision

making skills and restorative outcomes.

• Collaborate with peer mentoring

organizations to create programming that is

empowering and responds to the residents’

interests.

• Develop library skills training so that

residents can effectively utilize the public

library as a community and educational

resource upon release.

Why Are Juvenile Detention Center Libraries Important? 

• Nearly 100,000 youth are held in detention

facilities on any given day. (OFJJDP, 2009).

• 1/3 of juvenile offenders read below the

fourth grade level (Hayes, 2007).

• Most juvenile offenders who exit detention

facilities after the age of 16 do not return to

any formal school program (Vacca, 2008).

• 2/3 of prison inmates dropped out of high

school (Hayes, 2007).

Goals• Youth will have an improved sense of

community resources and public library

services.• Youth will be more likely to seek out

information related to their interests.• Literacy rates of incarcerated youth will be

improved.• Juvenile offender recidivism rates will

decrease.• Librarians and GSLIS affiliates will have new

opportunities to engage in offering services

in several essential areas, including library

outreach, collection development, and

information literacy.• Community groups will collaborate and

engage with an otherwise removed

population.

..

The Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center (CCJDC) is a short-term correctional facility with a resident capacity of 40. The majority of the CCJDC resident population is from historically

underserved groups (75-77% of youth are African American).

The Peer Ambassadors A group of African-American

and Latino/a youth that provides peer mentoring, counseling and education in Champaign County. This youth organization initiated the juvenile detention center

library project.

Urbana Free LibraryThe detention center library is being modeled after Urbana Free in order to increase the youths’ familiarity with public

library organization. The library also contributes materials to the

detention center.

To ensure sustainability, this project takes a collaborative approach to renovating library services. The collaboration currently involves the following organizations.

Books2PrisonersA community-based

organization that provides

donated materials to inmates

throughout Illinois.

The library in the Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center is located by the classrooms. Fiction books are grouped by reading level. Non-fiction books are organized by topic.

Learn more about the project by visiting

http://elseyjdc.wordpress.com/

Creating the CollaborationThe dedicated staff at the Champaign County Detention Center have maintained a library for many years.Through focus groups sessions with youth at the detention center, the Peer Ambassadors identified a need for materials that reflected the lived experiences and interests of the residents. The Peer Ambassadors partnered with the Graduate School of Library and Information Science to rebuild the collection and link to the public library.

Graduate School of Library and Information Science

Staff and students from the

school support the project by

providing input on organization,

materials selection, fundraising,

and project promotion.