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Tag: Institutional Library Services

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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WSL Updates for March 8, 2014

WSL Updates for March 8, 2014

Volume 14, March 8, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) DIGITIZATION GRANTS 2) FREE BOOKS 3) TURNING OUTWARD TO LEAD CHANGE 4) RENDEZVOUS WITH LOCKED DOORS 5) NATIVE AMERICAN LIBRARY GRANTS 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK ————————————————————————————————————— 1) DIGITIZATION GRANTS A new round of grant funding from the Washington State Library (WSL) is available to support Washington libraries in carrying out a variety of digital initiatives related to archival and special collections. Public, academic (two…

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How your donations to the Institutional Libraries makes a difference.

How your donations to the Institutional Libraries makes a difference.

The Clallam Bay Corrections Center is trying something different.  They are reconsidering the usefulness of solitary confinement.  According to an article in the Seattle Times, “Being alone in your own head 23 hours a day in a 48-square-foot poured-concrete cell makes, inmates say, the mad madder and the bad even worse.”  Clallam Bay is using a new approach to navigating the intervention of behavioral barriers, developing a program called the “Intensive Transition Program (ITP)” and the library is a contributing…

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Perceptiveness through Poetry

Perceptiveness through Poetry

From the desk of Anna Nash Every year I look forward to April because it’s National Poetry Month. It is my favorite time for programming in the Institutional Library Services branches. The talent I see each year is at time overwhelming. It is a labor of love. We arrange workshops, presentations, and open mics and in return we get to listen to and read truly amazing poetry. I don’t think I can say it any better than I did in…

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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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Stafford Creek’s Favorite Author, Garth Stein, Visits Yet Again!

Stafford Creek’s Favorite Author, Garth Stein, Visits Yet Again!

From the desk of Karen S. Diehm, Secretary Senior, Stafford Creek Corrections Center Write fat, edit lean – Garth Stein On Friday, May 8th, 2015 Garth Stein made his 3rd visit to Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) . We think he’s beginning to like it here! We originally invited Garth to SCCC due to his novel, The Art of Racing in the Rain, which is narrated by a dog. This beautiful book has over 4 million copies in print and was…

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Got CDs?

Got CDs?

CDs… do people still use CDs or is all music “consumed” digitally these days?  Across the state, people are cleaning out their CD collections and think that these “dinosaurs” are no longer viable.  But wait… we have an audience in Washington who will gratefully, happily and enthusiastically take those CDs off your hands.  One of the more popular items in WSL’s Institutional libraries, the library branches in our prisons and state hospitals, are the CDs.  The inmates and patients do…

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Why Do We Need a State Library?

Why Do We Need a State Library?

To quote a prominent library administrator: “Every library is designed to serve a specific community: Public libraries serve the people of a specific city or county. Academic libraries serve the faculty, staff, and students of a specific college or university. School libraries serve the students and teachers of a specific school. Medical libraries serve doctors, nurses, and patients at a specific hospital. Law libraries serve the attorneys and staff of a specific law firm. Each library is designed to add value…

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Sharon Brewer Receives her 30 year pin

Sharon Brewer Receives her 30 year pin

Rand giving Sharon her 30 year pin 2012 Sharon has worked for Washington State Library for 30 years.  She has been shuffled around several times as lay offs impacted her positions, but she has never lost heart.  She contines to do her best work now at  the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton.