Connecting Community to Incarcerated Individuals
Anne Arundel County Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
Second Chances Month is a national initiative that recognizes the importance of helping individuals, communities, and agencies appreciate their role in supporting the successful reentry of people returning from incarceration. This year for Second Chances Month, AACPL partnered with Jennifer Road Detention Center to host a bookmark contest. Incarcerated individuals were invited to design artwork for a bookmark and the community outside the walls of incarceration got to vote on their favorite design.
Challenge/Opportunity
The residents of Anne Arundel County face a number of obstacles and the Public Library is only able to address a fraction of them. Most of the library resources and services are not available to incarcerated individuals, a population of people often forgotten and considered unworthy of a second chance. The reality is that many of the resources and services that the library offers are precisely what they need to set themselves up for a successful future back in society. By showing them that they are seen as people capable of great things, they hopefully will see that the library is a place they can trust, with staff ready and willing to help them with their re-entry needs. The Bookmark Contest was designed to:
- Address loneliness (a public health crisis)
- Foster a sense of community and belonging
- Support successful re-entry of incarcerated people
- Reduce recidivism rates
- Give all people the opportunity to succeed
- Build trust in the library
- Strengthen community partnerships
Key Elements of Innovation
With the goal of helping incarcerated people feel connected to their community and bring awareness to the struggles faced by those re-entering society, the library partnered with Jennifer Road Detention Center (JRDC) and the Annapolis Anne Arundel Financial Education Coalition (AAAFEC). Detainees were invited to design artwork for a bookmark inspired by the theme “New Chapter” and finalists were selected. Each branch received a poster and ballots to create a display for customers to vote, highlighting areas of the collection about incarceration. Designs were posted on social media to collect more votes. The winning design was printed on 5,000 bookmarks and distributed at all 16 branches and at JRDC. The reverse side of the bookmark listed library resources and services that support re-entry efforts. The participants were gifted a sketchbook and earned the chance to attend a virtual financial planning workshop hosted by AAAFEC.
Achieved Outcomes
By collecting votes in-person and virtually, we measured that over 300 members of the library community participated in voting. Our social media accounts also received numerous positive comments about the project such as “Great way to connect the community with our people who are incarcerated!”, and “I would vote for them all if I could!”.
Inviting the AAAFEC to host the virtual program incentive meant that we were able to continue nurturing the library’s relationship with that community partner while also opening the door for Jennifer Road and the AAAFEC to work together in the future.
The winner of the contest relayed a sense of accomplishment that comes with success and the knowledge that his original design was shared across the county. Months after the winner was announced, his family drove to Annapolis, Maryland from Alabama to visit him at JRDC, then stopped at the library to pick up a stack of bookmarks to take home to “everyone in the family".
View social media promotional posts here:
