Value of Prison Libraries

One thing that stuck with me during my recent  interview with NPR.  I asked the prisoners how many of them visited their public libraries when they were outside the fence.  Only one person held up his hand.  He said, " I only visited the library because I was homeless and I could stay there and no one bothered me.  In the day it was like a shelter.  I really didn't know about searching for information.  Now that I am in prison, I have learned to use the library to look for information to help me when I get out."

What is the difference between working in a prison library and a public library I was asked?  I replied that I knew all the visitors in the prison library and security was there to escort them outside if they  got out of line.
When I worked in the public library, there was the constant reminder, "My taxes pay your salary." so public librarians had challenges of a different kind.

Prison Libraries on NPR

I was interviewed by Liane Hansen, of NPR.  She and her producer,  visited JCI,  one of the prisons that I supervise, and talked with some prisoners who were having a book discussion in the library. Inmates shared how the library was important in their daily life.   The program was aired on May 29, during the NPR  Weekend Edition 

 GLS in the parking lot of the Jessup Correctional Institution