Correctional Facilities Libraries
By Konnie Wightman, VCSU Adjunct Instructor
Originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of The Good Stuff, the official magazine of the North Dakota Library Association
The North Dakota State Correctional system maintains libraries for all inmates in four facilities. Just as we do on the K-12 level and in higher education for university students, our libraries are administered for the education of all our patrons. Last June I accepted a job as “the librarian” for all the correctional facilities without any prior knowledge about what conditions were in those libraries or even what kinds of services I would help provide. Within the walls, the resources are lean and in ragged condition. There is no internet access and patrons have to “guess” sometimes what they’d like to read. Our one edition of Books in Print is tattered and missing volumes, which isn’t helpful to searchers.
In Bismarck, there are two facilities, one at the North Dakota State Penitentiary and another at the Missouri River Correctional facility. There is also a facility in Jamestown as well as one for women only in New England. Much of the service I provide is to request interlibrary loans as requested by the patrons, which are sent to the State Library and picked up there to go out to the facilities. The wait time is quite long, although the fill rate is commendable. I’m in the process of trying to get more funding so we have resources available right at the facility.
Recently, two school libraries, Williston and Divide County High School, have donated books to the prisons, which are much appreciated. Paperback fiction is very popular; anything you like to read, the patrons in the correctional facilities like to read as well. Your library or school might be similar to Williston High School where teachers brought used paperbacks to Susan Snyder, who then offered them to us. (She even did the cataloging which helps immensely!) If you are in a similar situation, we could certainly use your paperbacks as well. In Divide County High School in Crosby, Maggie Townsend weeded out multiple and/or unused copies of books that she donated to us. Again, these are so much appreciated. You wouldn’t believe how excited my library workers get when they see the “new” books.
One thing I learned from this job is that the library provides inmates with resources not only to read for relaxation, but to find out about jobs or hobbies they’d like to try. Woodworking and gardening are two hot topics. As educators of information literacy, librarians can help people in correctional facilities become more informed, literate, lifelong learners when they re-enter the world of work.
If you have resources that you think we could use, please contact me at konnie.wightman@vscu.edu or konnie@bis.midco.net. Books in Print would be very much used if you have older copies to give away.