Are libraries required for jails and prisons and where can I find more
information about this?

Hello reba1220-ga, 

Thank you for your question.

According to the paper “Prisoners' Right of Access to the Courts: Law
Libraries in U.S. Prisons”, law libraries are a requirement in U.S.
prisons.

This paper examines “the history that led to the establishment of law
libraries in state and federal prisons in the United States. The
author explains the fundamental right of prisoners' "access to the
courts" and provides examples of how this access is granted. The law
library is the most widely used option to guarantee prisoners'
constitutional rights, including the right to file writs of habeas
corpus, sentence appeals, and claims relating to civil rights
violations and the conditions of confinement. The article examines the
challenges and problems of operating law libraries in the unique
environment of prisons, including the areas of administration,
collection management, staffing, space utilization, security, physical
access, and inmate services.”
International Federation of Library Associations
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla60/60-lehv.htm

In Europe libraries in prisons are required as it states below.

“European Prison Rules number 82 states that: “Every institution shall
have a library for he use of all categories of prisoners adequately
stocked with a wide range of both recreational and instructional books
and prisoners shall be encouraged to make use of it. Wherever possible
the prison library should be organized in co-operation with community
library services.”
HM Prison Service Website
http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/library/dynpage.asp?Page=539

“The Federal Bureau of Prisons offers a variety of programs for
inmates to acquire literacy and marketable skills to help them obtain
employment after release. All institutions offer literacy classes,
English as a Second Language, parenting classes, recreation
activities, wellness education, adult continuing education, and
library services. Inmates also have access to legal materials and
services to conduct legal research and to prepare legal documents.”
U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons
http://www.bop.gov/

For further reading:

A very detailed publication dated 2002 “Directory of State Prison
Librarians”
http://www.ceanational.org/statelibdir2002.pdf

An excerpt on Library Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions
http://www.ala.org/ascla/adultcorrectional.html

Search words in Google:
Requirement of libraries in U.S. prisons

I hope you find this information helpful.

Best regards,

Bobbie7-ga

Thanks so much for a thorough job. It will help a lot on my paper. The
answer was quicker than I expected, too!