Prison library filters bomb-making guides as true crime books prove popular

True crime books are among the most frequently borrowed titles at Käyrä Prison, an open prison in Aura, Yle reports. Books that glorify criminal life, drug use or explain how to build nuclear weapons, firearms or bombs are excluded from the collection.

The prison library is supported by Irmeli Malka-Kannisto, a retired specialist librarian who continues to volunteer there once a week. The Minister of Justice has awarded her the Prison Service Medal of Merit for developing prison library services.

Malka-Kannisto has worked to improve prison libraries since 2012. She recommends books to inmates based on their interests and believes she has made it easier for them to visit the library.

“Chick lit cannot be found in this library. It is also difficult to get books by female authors into the collection,” Malka-Kannisto says. Some inmates are interested in psychology books that help them understand why they have behaved as they did.

She works closely with unit manager Aki Saarinen to decide which material should be removed from the collection. Books that glorify the criminal world or drug use are excluded, as are books containing instructions for building nuclear weapons, firearms and bombs, Saarinen says.

The prison library’s five most borrowed books

Janne Raninen’s Selliläppää vankilasta, a 2021 collection of stories about Finnish prison life and inmates’ daily routines across different decades, ranks first.

Second is Tunnusta tai kuole by Daniel Fridell and Theodor Ludgren. It tells the story of a Swedish man who ended up on death row in Thailand after being wrongly convicted.

Third is Vanginvartija by Mikko Kiiskilä, which describes his career as a prison guard at Sörkka, Finland’s largest prison.

Helvetti sisältä by Lasse Wierup and Daniel Olsson ranks fourth. It tells the story of a former Hells Angels leader in witness protection who describes a gang that is dangerous even to its own members.

Fifth is Jengipomon monta elämää by Riku Aalto and Seppo Lampel. The book follows Aalto’s journey from peacekeeper to leader of a motorcycle gang and later to helping others.

Malka-Kannisto’s loud voice and blue hair have also helped make the library feel less formal. When she started, some people told her that she could not work in a library because her voice was too loud, she recalls with a laugh.

At times, her voice can be heard across the grounds in the Southwest Finnish dialect, calling out, “Where is your book?” when an inmate has “forgotten” to return a loan.

Käyrä Prison has about 70 inmates, and around half use the library. Malka-Kannisto is pleased that both visitor numbers and the number of loans are increasing. She credits the unit manager with supporting the library and enabling her to acquire new books as soon as they are published.

She believes reading supports a life without crime. “Nobody can fool you when you understand what you read,” she says.

One inmate, Jesper, says reading is not considered nerdy in prison. It provides an escape and helps him relax, he says. Because inmates cannot access the internet, radio, television and books offer windows to the outside world.

Jesper describes the library as a glimpse of ordinary life, while another inmate, Antti, says it is possible to forget that one is in prison there. Antti reads about one book a week and relies on Malka-Kannisto’s recommendations.

The inmates are identified by their first names because information about a prison sentence could make it harder for them to manage in society. Yle also generally does not publish the names of convicted people unless they have received more than two years of unconditional imprisonment.