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Our Prison Libraries help inmates to re-enter society

Our Prison Libraries help inmates to re-enter society

 On February 24, 2015 Library Associate Jean Baker participated in a “Help and Program Fair” at The Washington State Penitentiary.   This is an annual event with the intent of reinforcing positive changes in the prison environment and is held in response to the establishment of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy.   The purpose of this event is to present all of the programs available to inmates and to help them choose different and more productive paths while serving their sentences.   This…

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Reflections from WSP Library, July 2013

Reflections from WSP Library, July 2013

My job in the Washington State Library Branch at the Washington State Penitentiary has exposed me to an area of librarianship I never would have thought I was suited for.   When I started at the penitentiary library I was green as they say but over the last five years I’ve learned a lot about how to provide library resources to a unique population of individuals.  The inmates are from many situations in their lives and those who take advantage of…

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Virtual Reference in Prison

Virtual Reference in Prison

Librarians at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, Washington Corrections Center Shelton, and Washington State Penitentiary, have started using kiosks at their local institutions to send overdue notices and hold pickup notices to offenders. We are also answering questions submitted by offenders.  The result has been even better than expected!  At Coyote Ridge, we have drastically reduced our paper usage by sending the notices over the kiosk.  The new system is a win-win for staff and offenders alike; correctional officers don’t have…

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Piano anyone?

Piano anyone?

Working in prison libraries, we spend time answering “kites” from inmates in the locked units.  These kites are usually pretty basic reference questions, but every once in awhile we get one that just make us laugh.  Recently one such request was received at the Washington State Penitentiary, from an inmate in the Intensive Management Unit.  The information he requested was pretty straight forward until the last line …   kite……He got the information he wanted but security concerns prevented library staff…

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Jail Cell or Office?

Jail Cell or Office?

Most of the time working in a prison library does not feel like a prison. However, this can no longer be said for those working at the Washington State Penitentiary, East Complex Library. For years staff have been asking for an office to be built in the library that will allow staff to have a computer with Internet access readily available to use. Over the years road blocks have jumped up at every turn, this is no longer the case. East…

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