Office at WSP-EC

It was a typical year for both of the Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) Branch Libraries, the East-Complex (EC) and the West-Complex (WC).

In January 2011, our newest Library Associate, Molly Mooney had been on the job for 4 months.  Her training was going well and she enthusiastically participated in special projects:  working with our ILS Wiki pages and Library-Snapshot day.  In March the WC was open full-time again for the first time since February of 2010 and everyone was happy.  In April we said good-by to Molly when she decided to leave ILS.  The WSP libraries were back on half-time schedules.   With all of the going to and fro between EC and WC, Jean still wasn’t getting enough exercise and had to join the gym.

By May we had applicants for the vacant position at WC and in June Laura, Melisa, and Jean interviewed candidates.  In July Matt Roach accepted the position and was at WSP for two days before starting CORE in early August.  Matt was also a very enthusiastic new employee and training was well underway when ILS received the bad news. 

After nearly 30 years of operation the EC Library was being closed.  Jean’s position was going away which resulted in very bad news for Matt, who lost his job.  Even so, Matt gallantly worked through October and November to help pack up the EC collection.   His last day at WSP was November 30^th.   The day before that he accepted a job at the State Library, so everyone was happy about that.

The EC library closed for good on November 30, 2011.    When it was all over about 2/3 of the collection had been packed up.  The rest was left for WSP to distribute to the Minimum units.   Using a golf cart pulling a trailer, WSP staff made several trips between EC and WC to move all of the boxes of books, library furniture and equipment which took up every available space in the WC library storage room.  

Now begins the work of unpacking, sorting and cataloging materials for WC.   Here’s hoping the year 2012 will be just as typical as 2011 was.

AHCC Library

2011 saw many changes at the Airway Heights Corrections Center (AHCC). The institution changed to a closed movement facility and this has had a dramatic impact on library attendance. From what was a full library most movements has changed to about half our normal capacity.  

We started the year out with a Library Snapshot Day. Everyone had a blast and the atmosphere here was full of excitement. In February DOC started to make changes to increase security and for the next 6 months we were open and then closed due to lack of inmate clerks. Our budgets had been slashed so we started to feel the impact of that. Even with all the changes within DOC, the AHCC library has remained the center of activity. I still see all my regular patrons and reading remains high on the list of positive activities within the prison environment. 

In October, the AHCC branch library distributing the first book for our “AHCC Library Reads Together” program. We had our first session at the end of November and discussed Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. Since then the program has tripled in size and we have read The Skyfisherman by Craig Lesley and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We are just starting our newest selection, Little Bee by Chris Cleave. This program is really having a positive impact. The inmates are talking about these books in their day rooms and the discussions in our group are amazing.  

I have high hopes for the AHCC library in 2012.

WCC Library ready to receive the books

 In these tough times it can be hard to stay positive. We wait for budget cuts to decide our fates and hope that book budgets will not disappear and libraries will not close.  However, there are encouraging things that are happening.  Not only did the inmates from Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) donate $1000 to their library, we received a $3000 donation from the Muckleshoot Native American Tribe for the library at Washington Corrections Center (WCC).  This donation has come at a time when we need it most and it will be greatly appreciated by the patrons of the library.  This will be a constant reminder to me that even in these tough times libraries are important and people are willing to support them.  So from now on I will be trying to stay positive and focus on the good things, not just worry about the bad.

Congratulations to Sheryl Kindle Fullner, teacher librarian at Nooksack Valley Middle School in Everson, WA, on the publication of her book, The ShoeString Library, by ABC-CLIO! The publisher describes the book thusly:

An organized collection of budget saving methods, materials, and strategies, these tips are all tried-and-true examples of ways to stretch the media specialist’s budget and time, and change even the drabbest library into an inviting oasis of learning.

Makeovers are mesmerizing. Whether it is the 400-pound man who turns into a hunk or a hovel that morphs into a chic apartment, we all love "before" and "afters." Now every library can become an "after"-without busting the budget.

The Shoestring Library offers hope, incentive, and direction to librarians who lack everything but passion. The book is organized around 300 hints-more than 114 of which are green alternatives-for administering a library in tough times.

According to anecdotal information, Sheryl has been known to use her own money at garage sales to find bargain books for her library. She is known for her incredible dedication to the kids she serves through her library. Sheryl Fullner, we salute you!

And a tip of the hat to Whatcom County librarian, Regan Robinson, who posted an announcement of the book on the Publib e-mail list, thus calling it to this blogger’s attention.

In recognition of National Library Week, the Huffington Post’s Art Brodsky has posted a timely article decrying the all-too-frequent budget crisis in libraries across the country. He cites cuts in places such as Boston, Florida, New Jersey, Indianapolis, etc. He also links to the recent UW iSchool study which reports on the use of library computers for Internet access, and its increasing importance in the lives of Americans everywhere.

Here’s the final paragraph from the post:

Let’s give the last word to someone who has a secret ambition to be a librarian, but whose career went in a different direction. No less an authority than Keith Richards put it best in his forthcoming autobiography: "When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equalizer."

In a related article the Huffington Post continues its celebration of National Library Week by letting readers vote on their favorites from a slide show of several amazing library spaces. One of which, not surprisingly, is the "new" downtown Seattle Public Library.

The Washington State Library made the front page of the Olympian this morning. Unfortunately the headline reads: “State Library Faces Cuts.” I’ll keep my fingers crossed that one day in the future we’ll make it to the front page again with a better headline, something like “State Library prospers in new age of cultural awareness.”

In the meantime, the article has some information on what’s going on at the State Library and the sorts of cuts we’re anticipating.

Similar versions of the story appeared in other McClatchy papers, notably Tacoma’s News Tribune and The Bellingham Herald.

For more information on the cuts, and to find out how the State Library serves the vulnerable, and why we have to keep up a certain amount of Maintenance of Effort for Federal Funds, check out the Washington State Library’s State Library Budget Cuts information page.