Campania, prison libraries, agreement renewed: books and training for reintegration

Naples – Networking Campania's prison libraries with local public libraries and strengthening study and training activities for prisoners. This is the goal of the memorandum of understanding renewed for the third consecutive year at the Campania Regional Council.

The agreement aims to make the prison library not just a place for borrowing books, but also a space for socializing and engaging in discussion, connected to the institutions' educational programs. Among the objectives are the creation of the Campana Prison Libraries Center, along with the implementation of cultural and social programs for the prison population.

"The Protocol isn't limited to book management alone," emphasized Regional Council President Massimiliano Manfredi, emphasizing the desire to build a network between prison libraries and local libraries. According to Manfredi, the Council intends to actively support the activities of the Italian Library Association and the institutions involved.

For the regional guarantor for persons deprived of their liberty, Samuele Ciambriello, strengthening libraries means offering opportunities for study and socialization, but also encouraging the acquisition of skills useful for reintegration into the workplace.

The regional director of the Penitentiary Administration, Carlo Berdini, highlighted the training provided to inmates in cataloging book collections. The president of AIB Campania, Maria Pia Cacace, announced an additional module to develop skills that can be applied to participants' professional profiles.

The agreement was also signed by Nicola Palmiero, director of the Campania Juvenile Justice Center, and Colonel Giancarlo Sciascia, commander of the Military Penitentiary Organization. The father of Annalisa Durante, an innocent victim of the Camorra, to whom a library in the Forcella neighborhood of Naples is dedicated, was also present at the signing.