Welcome to LSYC!

Monday, July 1st, 8:45am-12:30pm: Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center tour

For the ALA Annual Conference 2013 in Chicago, LSYC is sponsoring a tour of Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center including its library, operated by Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School, located on the west side of Chicago.  Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center is one of the largest youth detention centers in the country. The school and library are operated by Chicago Public Schools and the library is staffed by a full-time, certified school library media specialist. The tour is co-sponsored by Library Services for Youth in Custody and ASCLA and run by Megan Cusick, Nancy B. Jefferson School Librarian, and Camden Tadhg, Logistics Team Chair of Library Services for Youth in Custody.

All attendees must register by 5pm on June 15th by filling out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aJLi5cWkKeQVdVEHkn7vYTTID3kMbhXs3T3yeiPb0fU/viewform

Want to Join LSYC (Library Services for Youth in Custody)? Fill out our membership form --> http://www.youthlibraries.org/lsyc-membership-form

Why should you become a member?

to network, share ideas, problem-solve, and get to know others in your field
to increase the ability of the juvenile correctional library field to advocate for itself
to create tools that will assist all of us in doing the work we feel passionate about
to get involved in an awesome organization and get experience organizing on the national level

Library Services for Youth in Custody (LSYC) is an organization serving the needs of and advocating for those who provide library services for youth in custody, which would include, at the least, incarcerated/detained/committed youth in both juvenile & adult settings in municipal, county, local, state, or federal facilities, including ICE detention centers and youth in secure mental health or rehab settings, and might also include at-risk youth in other forms of group housing or government custody.

All across America, youth are incarcerated or detained with little or no access to high-interest, culturally relevant library materials or engaging programming. Research has shown that free and independent reading is the number one tool to improve literacy, a vital component to reducing recidivism. Because youth come from and will return to all communities, library services for these youth are vital to everyone. This site is designed to share best practices and facilitate networking between people providing library services to incarcerated and detained youth and to encourage everyone to promote and support high quality library services to incarcerated youth in their communities.

For more information about LYSC, please see What is LSYC?

© 2012 Colorado State Library