WCC Library

When I first came to the Washington Corrections Center Library in 2010 I went through a little bit of a culture shock.  I had worked in other facilities, but nothing like WCC.  This library serves a small population of inmates who are housed here on a long term basis, but the institution has the unique aspect of being the receiving center for all male inmates in the state of Washington. 

In 2011 I asked if the library could provide service to the Recieving Units, otherwise known as the R-Units.  I got approval, which lead to several months of a rotating door.  The inmates moved in and out of the institution so fast that I was not able to keep up with  them. Because this led to the loss of too many library materials, this trial service was suspended.  However, we were lucky that we still had all of the books and other material from the McNeil Island Corrections Center library that has closed in 2010.  This material found a home in the R-Units here at WCC giving the many readers that transititioned through the facility an escape from prison life. 

During this trial period, we also started serving a unique unit here at WCC, the Re-Entry Unit.  This unit is full of offenders who have 6 months or less till they return to society.  I have been grateful that I have been able to provide them with much needed re-entry material that will help them transition into society.  They continue to come to the library today and will be joining the long term inmates in our WCC Reading Program as we read some of the classics.

Even as 2011 came to a close I realized that the ups and downs have made us all stronger and we continue to provide a much needed service to the inmates in all of our institutions.  I personally look forward to moving forward 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.

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 to distribute the paper notices to individual offenders, and offenders get their notices instantly. Quicker delivery of notices may even shorten the time that high demand items will sit on the hold shelf, waiting to be retrieved.

 I have also noticed a growing volume of “electronic mail” (kiosk version) that we are receiving from offenders, now that they realize they can send messages to the library’s electronic mailbox.  I’ve received countless messages that simply thank us for our services, and some that make suggestions for improvement or ask us to purchase their favorite books and music.  They also ask questions about library policies and ask us to check their accounts for overdue items, and attempt to resolve item return issues over the kiosk. 

The beauty of this new system is, to me, three-fold: 1) offenders are learning how to communicate effectively in an electronic world, a skill that is critical for successful re-entry, 2) conflict resolution is handled in writing, rather than face-to-face, which may encourage both parties to think about what they say before they say it, and 3) both offenders and staff are able to communicate in a much more efficient and organized way.  I can send messages to multiple offenders at once, and I can send them instantly rather than waiting 1-4 days for mail delivery and response time.  I can also answer questions in batches, rather than responding immediately every time someone has a question the library clerks can’t answer, and without asking offenders to wait in line at the counter to talk to a staff person. I can’t help but think this is the prison equivalent of virtual reference, and that is exciting!

Ask-WA Statistics – August, 2009

Ask-WA maintained a busy service during the month of August, with email again outpacing chat service. In numbers:

• Email questions received: 3821
• Chat sessions requested: 3067
• Chat sessions accepted: 2599
• Qwidget requests (% of total): 789 (25.7%)

As a cooperative we maintained an answering percentage of 84.7% for the month, which is lower than in July but remains well over the goal rate of 75%. Keep up the good work! The email aspect of the service remains robust, and outpaced chat for the month. Qwidget traffic remains around 1/4th of the total chat traffic, with the main users continuing to be Seattle Public and UW Libraries.

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