December 7, 2011
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Prison Woes: THe Library Closing
[with drawing of the inside of a cell]

When I first got here there was two days each week that we were allowed to get a pass and go up to the prison library at an allotted time for each dorm; but that's no more.
The library was closed due to what some would call a combination of laziness on the guards part, and stupidity on the inmates. Drugs and cell-phones were always found hidden away among the books in various places. And from what it looks like, the Warden just finally gave up on his guards being able to always find it.
Why didn't they just install a camera, or simply have a guard posted in the library during its operating hours--maybe even have the guard run it, instead of inmates behind the counter having access to where all the contraband was being found? A guard would sit outside the library and check passes as inmates went in and out--but that was it, and usually the guard wandered off. So everyone is to blame.
The books were split up among the dorms, and one inmate in each dorm is in charge of them--seeing that they are available for reading. Problem is this doesn't give each dorm very many books. It forces me to have to order more myself, but not all these guys have these means to simply buy books. The library actually had a good selection of classics and a lot of sci-fi and fantasy books.
They're supposed to be working on a solution for it; according to what's rumored by the Warden. Getting more books in; circulating the books between the dorms; or maybe even setting up a library for each individual dorm.
Most of ymy own books come from the Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller Company in Falls Village, Connecticut. I'm forced to order by mail, but they do have a web address:
www.Hamiltonbooks.com
[to right, a spiral]
Family and friends also send books from Hamilton, and by Amazon, and any other bookstore. We just aren't allowed to have books sent by an individual--they have to be from a store or at least through a store like Amazon, bookrak.com is a good one to.
They even allow us both hardbound and paperbound.
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