A living example of democracy
The Bremen Prison Library was
awarded the 2016 VGH Foundation Library Prize today (January 12, 2017). The jury
recognized the exemplary nature of the
institution: it is the only regular branch of a
Stadtbibliothek Stadtbibliothek thus
fulfills its legally defined mandate
in an ensuring the public unimpeded access to information and participation. That this
also applies to the incarcerated population is explicitly
confirmed in Article 28 of the European Prison Rules.
At the award ceremony on Thursday, January 12th, at the prison, Mayor
and Senator for Culture Dr. Carsten Sieling praised the award winners, saying: “
In Bremen, access to cultural and political education doesn't stop at the prison walls.
Reading is a human right, which
has been implemented here for many years by numerous dedicated staff members. My
sincere thanks for that.” Senator for Justice Martin Günthner added: “We are pleased and grateful for the
outstanding contribution of the prison library to integration through culture and
education, especially given the very specific conditions and challenges
of the penal system.”
Library director Barbara Lison accepted the award from Frank Müller, a member of the
VGH board, and expressed her gratitude: “My staff
are delighted with this recognition of their work and dedication.
We also see this award as an encouragement to continuously develop the services of this
library to meet current and future needs
.”
Inmates in Bremen can
choose from 8,000 media items in an open-access area, in addition to unrestricted access to the Bremen library network. The
jury was particularly impressed by the high usage of the prison library
: with 450 inmates, it records around 10,000 visits annually. In
the jury's view, this impressively demonstrates the educational potential
being utilized in Bremen. The award is therefore accompanied by the hope that
the Bremen example will attract attention elsewhere.
Henning Bleyl, culture editor of taz nord and member of the jury for the
VGH Foundation's library prize, commented: "In my view, prison libraries can
be described as the 'stepchildren of public libraries' – even though they
cater to a clientele for whom reading
possesses, to a degree unmatched elsewhere, all those qualities that are always attributed to it: reading as
self-empowerment. Reading as an escape from self-imposed immaturity.
Reading as an escape from everyday life. If prisons are to provide 'intellectual spaces
,' then the prison library fulfills this requirement to a particularly high degree."
The jury also praised the exemplary cooperation between the justice and
cultural affairs departments that makes the Bremen model possible. While the cultural affairs department, as the operator
of the Stadtbibliothek the costs for specialist staff and professional
library infrastructure, the justice department is responsible for material and acquisition costs
. This also
creates qualified jobs within the prison itself. In addition to the full-time staff, three inmates work in the prison library
, one of whom is from the pretrial detention unit.
The VGH Foundation Library Prize is awarded annually by the VGH Foundation in cooperation with the
Lower Saxony State Association of the German Library Association
. The recipient is nominated by a jury. The prize recognizes
outstanding achievements in various areas of library work,
highlighting the importance of libraries to society. The
VGH Foundation Library Prize is endowed with €5,000, which is intended
to support library projects. In 2015, the Stadtbibliothek
for its compelling concept for the integration of immigrants
.
Jury members 2016:
Günter Bassen, Managing Director of the Library Center
of Lower Saxony;
Henning Bleyl, Journalist, taz nord;
Felicitas
Hundhausen, Director of the University Library of Osnabrück
; Ellen van
der Loos, Lower Saxony State Association of the German Library Association
; Dr.
Sabine Schormann, Director of the VGH Foundation