I was told on 12/3/12 that the WCCW State Library branch and the WCCW law library were going to trade spaces. On 12/10/12 we closed the branch library and began to pack up and move 542 boxes of books to storage in a warehouse on the grounds. We were told the transition would take 30 to 60 days. I relocated to a dismal cubicle in another building.

As it turned out the original estimate of 60 days turned into 90 days which turned into over 7 months.

On 7/1/13 we moved into the former home of the law library and began the process of unpacking. The new space was painted and new carpet was installed. From 7/1/13 until 7/23/13 many small projects were completed such as having the security gate installed and new smoke detectors were added.

On 7/24/13 we opened the library in our new area, much to the delight of the inmate population. The sight of a line of women leaving the library with their arms loaded with the 15 books they are allowed was (almost) worth the seven month wait.

I grew up in the inner city in uptown New Orleans. The public library was the old style Carnegie type building. This is the place I went to meet girls. I did check out a book every once in a while but mostly I checked out the girls. I quickly discovered at the age of about 13 that this was the place that girls hung out.

On May 10th, 2012 the WCCW Library hosted a poetry reading. Laura Sherbo and Doug Gelis planned the event and invited 3 poets to come and read their and other poet’s poems.

70 inmates signed up to attend and 35 showed up to listen to poetry read. This was held in the WCCW Visit Room.  

The first poet to read was Kathleen Flenniken. Kathleen is the current Poet Laureate of Washington State. The second poet to read was Merna Ann Hecht. Merna is a social justice educator, storyteller, and poet. The third poet to read was Storme Webber. Storme is a spoken word, vocal, and visual artist.

This was not only my first time to host and serve as the emcee at a poetry reading, it was also my first time attending a poetry reading.  The reaction among the inmates was interesting because every single comment was positive. When the poets, who by the way, had 3 powerful and very different voices, asked if there were any questions, the only questions were when can you 3 come back.

WCCW Library

The new year started off with a bang. On 1/11/11 we hosted Library Snapshot Day at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. The day really highlighted who we are and what we do everyday. Inmates had their photos taken in the library and were told how their friends and families could access their pictures on Facebook.

Jump to March and the hot issue became library expansion. Laura and I met with our Associate Supt to talk about expanding the library area by taking over the adjoining room. This conversation is in its 14th year so stay tuned.

April brought spring flowers and a new circulation system named Destiny.

June was a good month for the library as the inmates here ponied up $1000 for me to buy books.

Jump again to December and the big news was the snow. The library and entire school building were closed on 12/20, 12/21, and 12/22.

In the prison branches of the State Library we have a form titled “Please Tell Us…” that allows the inmates to tell us what the library and its services mean to them. How does the library, its collections and staff, make a difference in their lives?

To date, the best response that I have ever received was the following statement:

“I would die in here without books, thanks.”

You will get lost in this site. It has everything from the History of Advertising to Women’s History. It is put on by the mothership.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

http://www.eol.org/   Imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth. Like Forrest Gump…….that’s all I have to say about that !

Recently I was channel surfing at home and came across the station that broadcasts out of Olympia, Wa. There was a hearing in progress with the Washington State Clemency and Pardons Board. The inmate seeking a pardon was on the phone from Washington Correction Center for Women and everyone else was in the same room. I know the inmate and was both surprised and pleased when I heard her list all of the things she had done to prepare herself for this moment. One of the things that she said was….” I have read every self-help book in the WCCW Library”.