Working in a Prison Library



picture courtesy of morguefile.com

I have been meaning to post concerning my new job as a prison librarian here in Tucson. I was in a 2 week training that all new employees must take before working in the actual prison units. Today was my first "official" day shadowing one of the other librarian's at her library. The library I was at today is brand new and very small, but nice. It has only been open to the inmates for 3 weeks, so the collection was lacking, but will start to fill in as time goes by. This unit is a minimum security prison, so the inmates have committed small crimes like a DUI or forgery, etc.. The inmates were all very pleasant and nice to meet and very polite (maybe some a bit too polite). I met the other 3 librarians first thing in the morning and we had a meeting discussing where I will be this week and whome I would be shadowing. I will be at all of their libraries and also will be at the library I will eventually will end up at sometime this week. I was supposed to be shadowing these librarians for a month (or at least that is what they told me during my interview)...they told me last week that I will be shadowing for a week then be on my own! :( I hope that isn't the case and if for some reason I don't feel confident enough on Monday I will let them know that and hopefully they will let me keep training with them. 

During the new employee training I learned so much about working in a prison, but mainly the things that I am not supposed to bring in or the things I am not supposed to do while there. There area  lot of rules. I am not allowed to bring a cell phone into the complex, and it is recommended to not even leave it in your vehicle, and if I do I am supposed to keep it hidden. Most of the women told me to just not bother bringing my purse in, because if I do it will be searched every time I enter the complex (I have stopped carrying a purse now). No cameras are allowed anywhere on the complex either or in your vehicle. I cannot bring in pre-packaged foods for snacks or my lunch unless I've removed them from their containers and put them in a ziploc sack or in a clear container. I am not supposed to have any extra clothing in my vehicle (visible) in the possibility of an escape, these articles of clothing can become a "disguise" for an inmate.

The training covered courses on topics that helped prepare us new employees for what it will be like working with them, as I will be supervising inmates in the library as patrons and I will have inmates as my library clerks. Some of the classes were basic classes talking about sexual harrassment among fellow employees, Arizona Government, to classes called "inmate manipulation", "inmate suicide prevention",  "working with inmates", "prison rape elimination act of 2003", "staff safety", "security procedures", and "ethical staff\inmate relationships"...to name a few.  They were all very helpful and I am glad they give such a long training period for anyone new to the complex. I must admit though they discussed scary situations that I am sure happen but are not the norm. I just hope I never have to deal with some of the scenarios they discussed in training!

I am sure there is a lot of information that I haven't thought of at the moment...but you get the idea of what it is like where I'll be working! I am sure this will be a great job and am looking forward to learning more and getting to see the operations of all the libraries here and eventually getting to manage and work at my own!