Carceral Labor and Academic Libraries: Investigating the Library Furniture

Abstract

In this article the authors provide context for and detail the Alfred University Libraries’ investigation into the libraries’ relationship with manufacturing prison labor. The investigation utilized a patron furniture audit to collect furniture and manufacturer data. This research project demystifies the university library’s relationship to prison labor, with an eye toward future steps needed to address this relationship; it seeks to understand the following: the makeup of our patron furniture; our institution’s procurement policies, preferred sourcing, and legal requirements for purchasing; and the manufacturers’ relationships to prison labor. Findings are shared and recommendations are made for divesting from the prison industrial complex