From Radical Bookstores to Liberatory Librarianship with Kristi Kenney

Community Profile
Photo of Kristi Kenney, a light-skinned woman with short brown hair wearing black glasses, a black shirt, and an "I voted" sticker.

Kristi Kenney (she/her) is an MLIS student in the final semester of her program at the SJSU iSchool. Kristi and her family live in Berkeley, California, where she has lived for the past 15 years after relocating from her hometown of Seattle, Washington. Throughout her time in SJSU’s MLIS program, Kristi has achieved a number of significant accomplishments, including the creation of a LibGuide, poster presentation, and even a full-fledged non-profit organization supporting the San Quentin Prison Library!

Radical Roots to SJSU

Prior to pursuing a career in librarianship, Kristi was involved in radical activism, community work, and volunteering. She worked in and co-managed bookstores for over 15 years, including Left Bank Books in Seattle, an anarchist collective bookstore with one of the oldest Books to Prisoners programs. She also volunteered with the Prisoners Literature Project, and the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library. Her interest in librarianship developed from this background, and her work today continues to focus on community well-being and social justice.

“I wish I had started the program a lot earlier!”

While she was unsure of whether an online program would suit her, its flexibility was appealing as it accommodated Kristi’s family responsibilities, and the COVID requirements of the time. She decided to give it a try by starting with just one class, INFO 200 Information Communities with Dr. Michele A.L. Villagran. It was during this class that Kristi began researching incarcerated people as information communities, and learned about their needs in prisons and prison libraries.

“The INFO 200 assignments around an information community allowed me to delve into what the LIS field is saying about prison issues. I got to look historically at the field of prison librarianship and more currently to a lot of new writing that is coming out about prison issues and access to information. This helped give me groundwork for later starting up the non-profit.”

Kristi continued exploring the topic of prison libraries and incarcerated peoples’ information needs through her coursework at SJSU. For example, she shared knowledge by creating an Incarcerated Patrons LibGuide for INFO 275 Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities with Dr. Kristen Radscliff Rebmann, and gained experience answering reference questions from incarcerated patrons through San Francisco Public Library’s Jail and Reentry Services reference by mail program for INFO 210 Reference and Information Services with Dr. José Aguiñaga.

Friends of the San Quentin Prison Library

Kristi’s interest in prison libraries led her to create the Friends of the San Quentin Prison Library, a non-profit organization that, similar to the Friends groups found at many public libraries, raises money for their libraries.

Kristi standing in the middle of a group of San Quentin Prison Library library workers, including resident workers, behind a table covered with childrens' books.

Several pieces of Kristi’s life came together to form the Friends of the San Quentin Prison Library. She met Gabriel Loiederman, a prison librarian at San Quentin Prison, while volunteering at the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library bookstore. Her husband, a non-profit lawyer, helped with the legal aspects of setting up a non-profit organization. Kristi’s bookstore and volunteer work and background was crucial to bringing these pieces together to start and run the Friends of the San Quentin Prison Library.

Photo of a group of people around a table covered with childrens' books at San Quentin Prison.

Get Involved!

Kristi has several suggestions for those who are interested in supporting the Friends of the San Quentin Prison Library:

  1. Share
    Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and tell your friends about us.
  2. Donate
    If you are able to, consider donating to or work or buying books for us.
  3. Collaborate
    Reach out if you are interested in collaborating with us, perhaps even as part of your course requirements.
  4. Expand
    Start a Friends organization for a prison library in your area. Get connected for some ideas on how to get started.

If you’d like to connect with Kristi, you can reach her through the Friends of San Quentin Prison Library email at sanquentinlibraryfriends@gmail.com. 

What’s Next?

After graduation, Kristi will continue running the Friends of the San Quentin Prison Library, collaborating with volunteers and local libraries or other interested organizations. She hopes to continue expanding the Friends and supporting the creation of other similar groups. At the same time, she aims to secure a part-time library position, ideally as an outreach librarian.

Check it Out!

Book cover for Solito by Javier Zamora featuring a silhouette of a child filled with a mountain landscape.

Kristi shared that popular books at San Quentin Prison span a range of genres and types, including sci-fi, paranormal romance, manga, and graphic novels.

One book that has been popular recently is Solito, a memoir written by Javier Zamora. Solito depicts the author’s 3000-mile journey from El Salvador to the US as an unaccompanied 9-year old seeking to reunite with his parents (Source: Penguin Books). Solito’s story is shared by many immigrants and their families who have been impacted by separation across borders.

To see what other books are in demand at San Quentin Prison, check out the Friends of the San Quentin Prison Library’s wishlists on Copperfield’s Books and Amazon!

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