Carl Cavanagh saw an immediate problem with the books available to inmates at Wilkinson Road jail on his first visit: About two-thirds of them were Harlequin romance novels.
鈥淪ome good-hearted person probably donated them,鈥� the Greater Victoria Public Library outreach librarian said. 鈥淵ou can just imagine 300 guys sitting around and reading these romances.鈥�
Cavanagh visited the provincial jail, officially called Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre, at the request of a chaplain interested in providing books on spirituality to the inmates. The facility houses both sentenced offenders and inmates on remand, such as those denied bail, while they await trial.
But as a librarian, he saw an opportunity to fill a wider need: Creating the first formalized library service at the correctional centre in 100 years.
The service is expected to begin in the coming weeks, and inmates will be able to take out GVPL books using a shared corporate account.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of eager readers there. There鈥檚 only so much TV they can watch and there鈥檚 no Internet in there, so they don鈥檛 have a lot of access to information,鈥� Cavanagh said.
It鈥檚 a project some say should be copied throughout the justice system, which often relies on volunteer initiative for literacy and education programs.
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The project has been a work-in-progress since Cavanagh鈥檚 first visit, alongside Madeline Bakker of Literacy Victoria, in 2011.
During that visit, they found the 鈥渂ook room,鈥� which looked more like a storage room, where clear plastic garbage bags filled with poor-quality paperbacks were kept alongside other material.
Cavanagh and Bakker volunteered to restore it.
鈥淭he guard thought it was a bit of a hopeless case,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e looked at each other and we said: 鈥榃ell, we鈥檇 like to try.鈥� 鈥�
Within four months, inmates had constructed bookshelves and Cavanagh had collected about 2,000 books 鈥� primarily taken from the GVPL鈥檚 surplus donations and the sa国际传媒 Book Sale. They sorted them into five genres 鈥� general fiction, mystery, sci-fi, literature and non-fiction 鈥� and began a rotation system.
Cavanagh quickly learned that when you deliver library services to inmates, there are a few extra restrictions.
No hardcovers, which could be used as weapons. No books by bank-robber-turned-author Stephen Reid, or anything that might glorify a life of crime. No inappropriate content like sexual violence. And don鈥檛 expect books to be returned in perfect conditions; every once in a while a cover would be torn up to make substitute poker chips.
鈥淚 often tell people they鈥檙e pretty sharp reviewers. If they didn鈥檛 like a book, they鈥檇 wreck it.鈥�
By 2013, the program had evolved again. Inmates began making requests for certain books and, where possible, Cavanagh would find them.
For the most part, requests reflected the same trends as the library鈥檚 general readership, he said. Mysteries and non-fiction are particularly popular and you could tell when Game of Thrones became a cultural phenomenon, he said.
Law books were also popular among inmates hoping to learn about their own cases.
鈥淚n one case, I had a letter mailed to me directly at the Central Library with a request. The guy said he and his common-law wife were expecting a baby, and could I find them a baby-names book?鈥� he said.
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The GVPL library service at Wilkinson Road jail won鈥檛 be the only one in the region. Kim Rempel has served as librarian for 26 years at William Head Institution 鈥� the federal minimum-security facility sometimes derided as 鈥淐lub Fed.鈥�
Whatever your perspective on the purpose of the justice system, books should be part of it, said Rempel, who is an advocate for better prison libraries under the Association of Law Libraries.
鈥淭hey challenge individual values and ideas and they do it in a very subtle, effective way. Why wouldn鈥檛 you put the best one you could in every prison?鈥� he said.
At William Head, inmates nearing the end of life sentences can find everything from self-help and philosophy texts to gardening magazines.
A 39-year-old convicted of second-degree murder said reading has been an important part of his rehabilitation process.
鈥淩eading gives us a different world, away from being locked up,鈥� he said.
鈥淭his is that one-foot-in-the-door and one-foot-out place. It鈥檚 where we learn to get back into society.鈥�
A 51-year-old serving a life sentence for first-degree murder said the library materials will make it easier for him to re-integrate into society, when the time comes.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 information,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been [incarcerated] for more than 30 years. I wouldn鈥檛 know much about computers if it weren鈥檛 for [library materials].鈥�
Libraries are about more than hobbies or entertainment, Rempel said. Sixty per cent of federal inmates lack a high school education, and 30 per cent of those haven鈥檛 advanced beyond Grade 8, Rempel said.
鈥淔orty per cent of the population is doing life sentences. This becomes their opportunity to work on themselves. You might as well facilitate that and really, this is one of the best ways,鈥� he said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e giving them nothing, but you鈥檙e giving them everything.鈥�
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Libraries have been part of the Canadian prison system since the mid-19th century, when religious texts were brought into Kingston Penitentiary. And while they鈥檝e received more support when some approaches to corrections are in vogue compared with others 鈥� like those emphasizing the value of educating inmates 鈥� libraries have never been treated as a priority, Rempel said.
鈥淲e bring information to inmates. That鈥檚 not a model that the prison system is used to. They are very much dedicated to the notion of penitence, isolation and removal from society,鈥� Rempel said.
That said, there鈥檚 a wide range of what 鈥渓ibrary service鈥� means. While all federal prisons have some form of library, few rival William Head鈥檚 25,000 books, 48 magazine subscriptions and five computers for a population of as many as 180 inmates.
Provincial jails tend to have much poorer libraries, Rempel said, largely due to a more transient population with varying degrees of risk, who will spend a maximum of two years in the facility.
While the Ministry of Justice says all nine correctional centres have in-house libraries, it also counted Wilkinson鈥檚 pre-makeover book room. The books were not organized and sorted, but would be randomly selected and sent to living units for inmates to read, a spokeswoman said.
Rempel said that what Cavanagh is doing is particularly important for prisoners in remand who might not understand the charges against them. Without Internet access, it鈥檚 a way to educate themselves about their cases.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a human-rights issue,鈥� he said.
In addition to Cavanagh, outreach librarians in Surrey and Nanaimo are working to co-ordinate library services to inmates, the Ministry of Justice said.
The jail program is just one of many outreach initiatives of the GVPL, including working with the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria and other groups to meet the needs of what it identified as 鈥渦nderserved populations.鈥�
Other organizations are also working to fill gaps for inmates. The READ Society is working with the Cowichan Valley School District to revitalize a program started by Literacy Victoria, which ended last August. The program involves literacy tutoring and allows inmates to obtain school credits.
The Ministry of Justice did not grant the sa国际传媒鈥檚 request to visit Wilkinson Road jail or interview any inmates or staff directly.
It submitted a statement on behalf of warden Peter Fitzpatrick: 鈥淲e are constantly looking for new opportunities to help inmates continue to learn and grow while they鈥檙e in custody. Expanding our library program through this partnership is one more way we can build their literacy skills and open their minds to behavioural change with the hope of improving their outcomes after release.鈥�
David Johnson, executive director of the Victoria John Howard Society, said advocates and volunteers are crucial in a climate of cutbacks.
With all of the other expenses in correctional facilities, it鈥檚 easy to see how libraries can be pushed aside.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those programs where, while it鈥檚 very needed, when the going gets tough and the money gets tight, it鈥檚 much more difficult to continue the funding,鈥� he said.
鈥淲ith a library, whether it be at Wilkie or William Head, it needs those champions.鈥�
