After 12 years in office, Sam Reed has completed his mission of visiting all of the State Library’s prison and hospital branches.

The Washington State Library partners with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Social and Health Services to provide library services to inmates in adult correctional facilities and patients in Western State and Eastern State adult psychiatric hospitals at Steilacoom and Medical Lake.  There are branch libraries in two DSHS facilities and nine in prison facilities.

Reed’s last stop came Tuesday at the Washington Corrections Center for Women near Purdy in Pierce County,  which houses 882 inmates and is the only women’s correctional facility in Washington.  The State Library began serving the prison in 1971 and has 15,000 items in its collection there.

In addition to receiving library services, inmates are able to get their GED while they serve time and some are able to take college courses.  The prison also offers instruction in dog grooming, sewing, Braille translations, cosmetology, horticulture, floriculture, architectural drawing, and other valuable skills to help the inmates find employment after being released.

Secretary Reed said he has great admiration for librarians who work behind prison walls, offering literacy, a positive pastime for inmates and invaluable help in preparing for life on the outside.  Reed was accompanied by Laura Sherbo, who manages the institutional library program, and the Purdy prison librarian, Doug Gelis.

Reed has made it a special point to visit all of the institutional libraries, to offer encouragement and support, particularly in tough budget times where staff reductions have been required.