Jail, not Yale!

Today, the library team had a request from a young man in an isolation cell. His voice, muffled by the heavy metal door, said he needed "intellectual stimulation." Our view through the narrow slit of a window confirmed that fact--there was nothing to look at or occupy his time.

Earlier in the week, a worker in one of the cell blocks shouted from a recreation yard, "Hey, Librarian. I loved those poetry books you gave me, especially the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson." We had overheard him quoting a Carl Sandburg poem from memory to a fellow inmate. How often do you hear "City of Wide Shoulders" recited on the street or in the classroom?

Another person has written a novel and wanted grammar, punctuation and spelling books to check his work. Other GED students request books that show their desire to excel to a higher level.

As our team proceeded down the long "Get Smart" hallways of the jail, we passed one of our favorite deputies who quipped, "This is Jail, not Yale."

We're not so sure about that!