Library materials to be returned to Prison libraries

Even the civil libertarians got in on the act and the Federal Prison System reversed itself. See the following article.

Federal Bureau of Prisons to Return Religious Works to Prison Chapel Libraries
Prison Fellowship Lauds Feds for Reversing Course & Taking a Common-Sense Approach to Ridding Prisons of Extremist Materials
LANSDOWNE, Va., Sept. 26, 2007—Today the Federal Bureau of Prisons issued a statement to NPR’s Talk of the Nation indicating that it will "alter its planned course of action with respect to the Chapel Library Project." In order to rid chapel libraries of violent materials, the Bureau of Prisons had recently removed all religious materials from prison chapel libraries except a very limited number of resources. This effort elicited a vocal response from chaplains and a diverse group of faith-based and religious organizations that work with prisoners—including Prison Fellowship, the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families—who believed the new policy impeded prisoners’'access to a variety of wholesome, faith-filled books.In today's statement, the Bureau of Prisons said, "The Bureau will begin immediately to return to chapel libraries materials that were removed in June 2007, with the exception of any publications that have been found to be inappropriate, such as materials that could be radicalizing or incite violence. The review of all materials in chapel libraries will be completed by the end of January 2008.""We applaud the Bureau of Prisons for listening to the concerns of a diversity of faith communities and returning those resources removed from chapel library shelves," said Prison Fellowship President and former Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley. "We appreciate the Bureau’s commitment to keeping the small number of materials that incite violence out of prison chapel libraries. By returning to the common-sense approach of getting rid of only those materials that incite violence, they ensure that prisoners have access to a wide range of quality religious works that will help them become productive members of society when they are released back to our communities."Prison Fellowship has recently worked closely with the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Prisons and other faith-based communities to address these issues. "It took years for chaplains, local churches and other religious organizations to build up the holdings of many prison chapel libraries," Earley added. "It’s great to see that these works will now be restored for prisoners’ daily use."