Alfred University News

Where did that chair come from? Two Alfred University librarians win Prism Award for documenting libraries’ purchase of furniture manufactured by exploitive Prison Industrial Complex

Two Alfred University Librarians have received a prestigious award from the South Central Regional Library Council for their research into the commercial relationships between university libraries and the exploitation of prison inmates engaged in the manufacture of institutional furniture.


 

Kevin Adams, an Information Literacy librarian in Herrick Library, and Maria Planansky, a Collection Management librarian in Scholes Library, have received SCRLC’s  2025 Prism Award for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility.

They were honored for the work in documenting a former relationship between Alfred University, particularly its two libraries, and manufacturing companies such as Corcraft, an entity within the New York State Department of Corrections and Community. Corcraft is a Preferred Source for New York State institutions purchasing office chairs, desks, personal care supplies and classroom furniture.

It and other manufacturing entities are also involved in what organizations such as the Abolitionist Library Association term the “Prison Industrial Complex,” a network of federal and state prisons and industries that employ inmates in allegedly exploitive production systems.

According to research compiled by Adams and Planansky, prison inmates are frequently employed against their will in manufacturing processes for which they are paid sub-minimum wages ranging from $0.13 to $1.30 per hour. The work can be dangerous. “Laborers don’t always receive the necessary training or protective gear to safely work on the job, and most incarcerated laborers are not protected by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).”

In response to Adams’ and Planansky’s research, which they shared on the Alfred University campus through the university libraries’ Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Working Group, Alfred University libraries have ceased purchasing from companies, such as Corcraft, with ties to prisons.

According to Mechele Romanchock, Director of Libraries, Scholes Library, library administrators also have developed “a set of ethical purchasing guidelines for AU libraries. These guidelines address considerations such as labor practices, inclusivity, accessibility, and environmental impact.”

“AU Libraries’ administrators have adopted these guidelines as crucial considerations for all future purchases,” Romanchock wrote in nominating Planansky and Adams for the Prism Award.

The impact of Planansky and Adams’ work may spread well beyond Alfred University.

For starters, the periodical College and Research Libraries will publish an article they co-wrote detailing their research in July 2025: “Carceral Labor and Academic Libraries: Investigating the Library Furniture.”

Additionally, Adams and Planansky produced the podcast “Who Made That Chair” in addition to developing numerous presentations at the gatherings of national library associations.

According to Romanchock, “Maria and Kevin are working to raise awareness across Alfred University and pointing toward the actions taken by the libraries as examples for how to divest from the (Prison Industrial Complex) PIC.”