Information Needs and Reading Interests of Prisoners

This master thesis focused on reading interest and information behavior of prisoners as a socially excluded group that faces complex and varied obstacles when accessing information and reading material. The study conducted as a part of the thesis sought to answer the following research questions: What are the information needs of prisoners? How do prisoners obtain the required information? What obstacles do they meet in that process? What are the prisoners’ reading interests and habits? How do prisoners perceive and use prison libraries? Data was collected by means of a questionnaire distributed to male and female inmates in six Croatian prisons across the country. The study provided rich data which can help the administration in Croatian prisons in their efforts to provide responsive library collections and information services.