EDITOR'S CORNER

Should inmates be allowed access to any book of their choosing? When is censoring or limiting book choices a positive strategy and when does it have a negative impact?

These are questions corrections librarians and administrators face on a regular basis. With some proper guidelines, a method of book selection can be made in a way that helps both the offender and facility. In Judith Jorbet's article, she discusses the importance of a general reading library and ways to think about what books to offer.
Jim, Corrections.com editor

FEATURED STORY

An island of support

By Judith Jordet

General reading is good too

Federal law mandates a law library (or equivalent) for inmates to access the courts, but how does the general reading library contribute to corrections? As a library coordinator at a corrections institution in Oregon, I believe a prison library is in the middle of the lake of inmate culture.

Depending on how the reading library is managed, it can be an island of healthy introspection or end up a neglected swamp discouraging success in correction programs. It is through collection development that the reading library can contribute to corrections and become a pro-social resource for inmates.

In his book, Crime and Coercion (St. Martin's Press, 2000), Mark Colin defines two major attitudes in prison management. One is punitive, insisting on obedience; the other is based on pro-social support by addressing the expressed needs of inmates to achieve the "consent of the governed." Read this week's full story.

Stay current on all Corrections.com articles with its news feed.

Get the latest corrections headlines sent to you.

Check out Corrections.com on YouTube and MySpace.

READER FEEDBACK

Regarding Allow cell phone jamming
"Searches for cell phones within our institution has become our number one priority. Our fights/assaults have increased tremendously due to issues over cell phones. Allowing states to jam cell phones within the secure perimeter of a prison is a no brainer!"
sfitch24, from our online community

See what other readers are talking about.

What's your opinion?

LOOKING AHEAD

NOW ON CORRECTIONS.COM

Ringing in the new year

The American Correctional Association’s 2009 Winter Conference wrapped up in Kissimmee, Florida this month, and hundreds of correctional colleagues gathered from around the United States to workshop, network, and learn from one another. Full story

Democratic distortion

The next United States Census is just one year and a month away, and the massive questionnaire-by-mail campaign will have weighty outcomes for every citizen. Full story

Extremely well-deserving

A Pennsylvania corrections officer and his family recently received the thrill of a lifetime thanks to ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Full story

BUSINESS NEWS

NABCJ’s Presidential Citation for Corporate Support Awarded to Keefe Group President

Jack Donnelly, President of Keefe Group was the recipient of the Presidential Citation for Corporate Support... More

Digital Solutions/Inmate Telephone, Inc. Releases Third Quarter Update

Digital Solutions/Inmate Telephone, Inc., a technology firm focused on improving operational efficiencies within the corrections industry... More

California DOCR completes deployment of ATG system

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has successfully deployed Trust Fund Administration and Commissary Operations applications... More

CAREER WATCH

Adult institutions administrator appointed William Grosshans has been chosen to oversee the division of adult institutions, which is the largest unit of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Full story.

Visit our job center today Employers: Post Jobs View Resumes Job Seekers: Post Resume Search Jobs

EVENTS

Prisoner Re-entry Webinar
Thursday, January 29 - 3:00 - 4:30pm EST

Join Social Solutions for an educational webinar on the Maryland Re-Entry Partnership program for ex-offenders, with Catholic Charities of Central Maryland. REP's program manager will share how it's measuring and managing the effectiveness of its nonprofit services that helps men leaving prison make a positive transition to their neighborhoods.

They will discuss:

• Self-sufficiency measures implemented as indicators to preventing recidivism, a result of reassessing and refocusing program outcomes.


• Gaining staff buy-in to support these changes and committing to collecting and using data that will have a meaningful impact.


• Leveraging this approach to take steps toward becoming a performance management driven organization.

You will learn how REP captures participants' progress toward achieving outcomes and tracking service delivery with ETO Software — and use this information to assess impact and to manage staff.

Space is limited so RSVP today!