MISSION STATEMENT

To provide services that expose the inmate population to reading, programming and legal information in an attempt to ease tension and promote literacy.

Access to a circulation collection including fiction and nonfiction is provided at Jail North and Jail Central.  The methods of delivery are very different and questions about specific Policies and Procedures should be addressed to the facility's librarian.  During the calendar year 2005, circulation for both JN and JC totaled 18,314 loans.

The collections are built primarily through donations.  Commissary funds, grants, and monetary donations provide some funding for special purchases such as learning materials, nonfiction, foreign language, audio books and videos.

PROGRAMS

Topics range from Young Adult book club to vocational training to be a library assistant.  Instructors and coordinators for these programs include MCSO staff, volunteers and professionals employed by community partners such as the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC).

BOOK CLUBS

Freedom Reads -    Young adult males, 16-17, partner PLCMC
Club de Lectores -   Adult males, Spanish speaking, partner PLCMC
Ladies First -   Adult females, partner community volunteers

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Library Assistant   -   Adult males and females interview for positions as library assistants and must pass a 20-hour course and multipart test to qualify.  These positions are not linked to inmate worker status and the primary reward for participation is self-improvement.  The training is equal to an entry level position at a public library.  This class is taught by library staff.

READING FATHERS 

Originally designed for outreach in the community, partners from the Mecklenburg County Health Department and Fighting Back introduced this program to MCSO in 1999.  Fathers of children 5 and under are encouraged to bond with their children through reading and stress the importance of reading to young children.  Successful participants complete the class with a personal visit with their child to practice their new parenting skills.

LEGAL REFERENCE

Access to a legal reference collection is provided at Jail North and Jail Central.  Inmates may request an appointment using a law library request form.  Appointments are prioritized based on legal representation, either private or public defenders; status in the judicial process – pre-trial, sentenced, or appeal; and previous appointments.  Access to legal information is available to all inmates regardless of their classification and housing location – general, maximum or disciplinary.