The Women’s Prison Subcommittee of the Greater Edmonton Library Association (GELA) is a group of volunteers from the library community working on an ongoing basis in the Edmonton Institution for Women.
We have been involved with work in the EIFW library (including collection-building, weeding, revitalizing the facility, and policy development); inmate book clubs (dedicated to adult literature and young adult fiction); a storybook project (where women record themselves reading aloud, and their recording is sent to children in their families); a book borrowing project that allows inmates to access materials from Edmonton Public Library; and a writers’ group. We have an additional book club and storybook project that works with inmates in the Secure Unit.
The Prison Sub-Committee also performs much of its work in co-operation with Future Librarians for Intellectual Freedom, a student group at the University of Alberta’s School of Library and Information Studies.
The Prison Sub-Committee meets several times a year. We welcome new members and support for our endeavours. We also gratefully accept cash donations and books to support our projects. For more information, or to get involved, please contact us at gelaprisonproject AT gmail DOT COM.
