In this GlobalMindED webinar about efforts to break down the barriers of higher education in prison, I explore how incarcerated students lack access to quality library resources and describe the efforts JSTOR has made to overcome this by providing an offline index of its digital library.

1. Breaking Down Barriers to
Higher Education in Prison:
Access to Library Resources
Alex Humphreys
@abhumphreys
GlobalMindED Webinar
May 20, 2020

2. The barrier:
Incarcerated students do not have
access to high-quality library resources.

3. LOOKING
CLOSER AT
THIS BARRIER
No internet access and prison
libraries – even those dedicated to
Higher Ed in Prison programs – are
very small
Student research is done “by proxy” –
which isn’t real research
Students don’t get to develop research
skills, which are a critical part of
higher education

4. JSTOR
More than 11,000 libraries from 170+ countries
currently provide access to JSTOR.
Content has been consistently added since JSTOR’s launch. More
than 79 million pages of journal content plus nearly 80,000 books
and 2 million primary sources are now available and preserved.
6 million people visit JSTOR every month to conduct research.

5. JSTOR’S FIRST ATTEMPT AT
OVERCOMING THIS BARRIER
2007 – initial request from Bard Prison Initiative
Objective: a method for students without Internet access to search
JSTOR and select relevant content for their research
Solution: Offline browser that provides a searchable index of content
on JSTOR, but not the full-text of documents. Requires students to
request needed content, and instructors or librarians to find, print, and
deliver.

6. 1. Student
searches
2. Requests
interesting
articles from
program staff
3. Staff return to
campus
4. Staff print
article
5. Printed article
returned to
facility
6. Media review
7. Student reads!

7. 1. Student
searches
2. Requests
interesting
articles from
program staff
3. Staff return to
campus
4. Staff print
article
5. Printed article
returned to
facility
6. Media review
7. Student reads!
Best case:
2 weeks

8. 1. Student
searches
2. Requests
interesting
articles from
program staff
3. Staff return to
campus
4. Staff print
article
5. Printed article
returned to
facility
6. Media review
7. Student reads!
Worst case:
3 months to never

9. TODAY
19 programs have received the index.
We hear that JSTOR is one of very few academic resources that has
ventured a solution for prison education programs.
We see potential for improving the index, content, process, instructor
experience, and student success.

10. Expanding JSTOR’s Support
for Higher Education in Prison

11. JSTOR’s long term goal:
Provide full access to JSTOR to as many
higher education in prison programs as
possible.

12. JSTOR’s long term goal:
Provide full access to JSTOR to as many
higher education in prison programs as
possible.
JSTOR’s goal for this project:
Improve and test JSTOR’s offline
solution in order to learn what it will
take to expand access to it.

13. IMPROVED SOLUTION
 NUCs, not thumb drives
○ = a search appliance
 Can be used in two modes:
○ Networked device within the facility
○ As a configuration engine to create
thumb drives for smaller computers
 Both search index and Open Access
content
 Some support for request workflow
 Automatically update content and
functionality when connected to internet
 Robust documentation for admins and
students, including how to conduct
academic research

19. NEXT
STEPS
Implement the new solution at five
programs
Gather feedback and data
Continue to improve system

20. THE
IMPACT
OF COVID19
Prison facilities have gone on
lockdown, forbidding outside visitors
Education programs have either
closed or switched to correspondence
We have shifted our project to
enhancing the solution so that it’s
better when programs resume

21. THE
IMPACT
OF COVID19,
CO.
Some programs are contemplating
online learning
More facilities may contemplate
access to vetted and secure websites
We are interested in finding a way to
do so while providing an experience
as close as possible to that of students
on the outside
Doing so would make great progress
in overcoming this barrier to higher
education in prison

22. Thank you
Alex Humphreys
Director, JSTOR Labs
ITHAKA
labs.jstor.org
@abhumphreys
alex.humphreys@ithaka.org

23. Appendix

24. ITHAKA is a not-for-profit organization that helps the academic
community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record
and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit
digital library of academic
journals, books, and
primary sources.
Ithaka S+R is a not-for-profit
research and consulting
service that helps academic,
cultural, and publishing
communities thrive in the
digital environment.
Portico is a not-for-profit
preservation service for
digital publications, including
electronic journals, books,
and historical collections.
Artstor provides 2+ million
high-quality images and
digital asset management
software to enhance
scholarship and teaching.

25. JSTOR Labs works with partner publishers,
libraries and labs to create tools for
researchers, teachers and students that are
immediately useful – and a little bit magical.