A Prison Library Service
We try to be the best library service, and don’t dwell on the fact that we are the only library service inside the prison – we compare ourselves with all Libraries as such. I have worked at Tacoma Public Library and at Pacific Lutheran University’s Mortvedt Library. While I have to admit they have much larger collections, awesome budgets and dedicated professional staff, I have to say I feel more needed here inside the prison. My making the difference in many inmates’ day and hopefully their lives. Since we do have Interlibrary Loan (ILL) capabilities with OCLC’s First Search interface I do borrow many items from both TPL and PLU, making our joint service effective one patron at a time.
Many ways to measure our success as a library, but the one I liked was when going to my community public library I found a former inmate brousing the shelves. I said hello and he tried to remember where he knew me from and I told him it was probably at another library on an island. It took a bit and then it dawned on him; you see I was in blue jeans and not wearing a tie, I don’t always look like the Library Guy. He is still using the library — scored! another point for us.
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