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Author Patricia Briggs visits Coyote Ridge Corrections Center

Author Patricia Briggs visits Coyote Ridge Corrections Center

On August 28th, author Patricia Briggs gave a presentation in the library at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center to inmates and the Institutional Libraries Services staff of the State Library, which is a division of the Office of Secretary of State. Nearly 50 inmates attended, and many posed insightful questions about how Briggs approaches the writing process. She said that if you want to be a writer, the first thing you should do is read anything and everything. Her mother was a…

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Inmates at the Airway Heights Corrections Center
A National Library Week look at institutional libraries

A National Library Week look at institutional libraries

This week, April 8-14, is National Library Week. Through a partnership between the Washington State Library and the state Department of Corrections, we operate nine institutional libraries for inmates and state hospital patients across the state. Institutional libraries are located inside Airway Heights Corrections Center, Clallam Bay Corrections Center, Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, Stafford Creek Corrections Center, Washington Corrections Center, Washington Corrections Center for Women, and Washington State Penitentiary. There are also libraries located in the Twin Rivers Unit and Washington State Reformatory at the Monroe Correctional Complex. Additionally, interlibrary loan services…

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Dogs in the library, normalizing life for inmates.

Dogs in the library, normalizing life for inmates.

From the desk of Jean Baker – Library Associate, Washington State Penitentiary I was sitting in the office yesterday and someone pointed to the hallway and said, “Look at all of the puppies”.  I went out in the hallway and found about a dozen puppies spilling out of a basket and climbing over each other.  Standing around in a circle were about 10 grown men some with tattoos and ponytails cuddling, petting and cooing at the little canines thus erasing the…

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Inmate artwork brightens library at Coyote Ridge

Inmate artwork brightens library at Coyote Ridge

Inmates at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center stand in front of artwork they created for the facility’s library. (Photo courtesy Department of Corrections) At the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center (CRCC) in Connell, there are some individuals who share their artistic abilities for the benefit of all. There is a paint crew of incarcerated individuals who not only paint but make cardboard props, models and games for use in plays and family-friendly activities. These models/games are donated to the local library for…

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Poetry on the Inside

Poetry on the Inside

Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen recently held  poetry workshops for the inmates at both the Coyote Ridge Correctional Center and the Washington State Penitentiary. Washington State Library has an institutional library branch in each of these facilities and the workshops were held in our libraries.  You may not think a prison would be a place that was receptive of poetry but both reported successful programs. ​At the Washington State Penitentiary’s program nine inmates attended as well as a couple of…

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Patricia Briggs visits Coyote Ridge Corrections Center Library

Patricia Briggs visits Coyote Ridge Corrections Center Library

On April 9th, 2013, at the invitation of Library Associate Gayle Shonkwiler, Patricia  Briggs, author of the Mercy Thompson shapeshifter series, visited the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center. The presentation was very well received and liked by the 30 inmates in attendance. Patricia read from her newest best seller “Frost Burned” which was just released in March.  After the reading she answered questions about everything from her books, how to write, how to get published and character development. Patricia thoroughly enjoyed her…

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Donation from Mr. Jamie Ford to Coyote Ridge Corrections Center Library

Donation from Mr. Jamie Ford to Coyote Ridge Corrections Center Library

Coyote Ridge received a generous, and special, donation of new books from author Jamie Ford today. Mr. Ford visited the prison last March as part of a Community Read program hosted by Washington State Library. Shortly after his reading, Mr. Ford decided to donate the remainder of his speaking fee, after travel fees were paid, back to the library in the form of a book donation. He asked the library staff at Coyote Ridge to submit a wish list, which was (of course) completed almost immediately. Everything…

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CRCC Community Read 2012

CRCC Community Read 2012

The “community read movement” started in 1998 in Seattle and has gained popularity across the United States. I’ve been intrigued by them for many years. And while I hear about them all the time, I’ve never heard of one taking place inside a prison. So, last summer, I decided to organize one for Coyote Ridge. And it wasn’t easy, but I did it. The book I decided to use was Jamie Ford’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet….

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My favorite memory from 2011 is all the running on the boulevard.

My favorite memory from 2011 is all the running on the boulevard.

The idea that men around here will run to a library never fails to amaze me. They arrive, wheezing our names while holding up a hand, signaling us to wait a moment while they catch their breath in order to ask some burning question. The sound of books being dumped into the drop box outside the library initiates a vague sense of anxiety in my chest, as those who did not run fast enough are turned away. The officer’s voice…

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