Forgotten Patrons: Building Library Services for Regina’s Incarcerated Population

By Alan Kilpatrick

On Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 2:30 pm, I am co-presenting a session at the 2025 Saskatchewan Libraries Conference with RCMP Librarian Marika Hunter:  Forgotten Patrons: Building Library Services for Saskatchewan Incarcerated Population.

We need your help. Libraries are fundamental for incarcerated individuals. Literacy activities and reading materials positively affect their lives and experiences. They serve an essential role in reintegration, connecting to and mirroring the outside world, and preparing individuals for release.

Unfortunately, incarcerated individuals in Saskatchewan are an underserved segment of our province’s population who do not have adequate access to library services. Many prisons lack formal libraries and recreational, cultural, and educational reading materials.

The Saskatchewan Library Association (SLA) established a Prison Library Sub-Committee in 2021 to address the deficit of reading materials available to incarcerated youths and adults in Saskatchewan’s correctional facilities.

More still needs to be done. How can you and your library help? Take advantage of this must-see session to learn how to get involved.

Attendees will learn about:

• The importance of library services in prisons

• The SLA’s Prison Library Sub-Committee and its activities

• The importance of building relationships with correctional centres while building prison library services