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| Libraries Are Lifeline for Inmates |
| By baltimoresun.com |
| Published: 02/08/2010 |
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A couple of weeks ago, Glennor Shirley, Maryland's prison librarian, visited the Jessup Correctional Institution. In the eyes of many, and certainly in the red eyes of the state budget masters, prison libraries are not perceived as essential to the commonweal. Funds are more limited than ever, and the most recent budget snips ended evening hours in all prison libraries. "I am still trying to figure how to manage," Ms. Shirley wrote Jan. 27 in a blog, Prison Librarian, that she maintains. "But when I want to get validation for my work as a prison library coordinator, I leave the office and visit a prison site." She had arrived that day at the JCI by 9 a.m. By 9:15 am, she counted 61 inmates seated at tables and reading magazines and books, or browsing among the stacks, or asking questions at the reference desk. Some of the men asked Ms. Shirley when evening hours would be restored. "The [inmates'] appreciation of the library and their dedication to reading and finding information renewed my determination to continue to fight for good quality service for the prison libraries that I coordinate," Ms. Shirley wrote. Maryland's prison librarian is certainly on the job, with admirable commitment and belief in the value of her work, even in the midst of recession and budget crunch. Read More. |
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