Jails Reading Program

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

In 2018, Maricopa County Library District (MCLD), in partnership with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), offered its annual Winter Reading Program to adults incarcerated at five County jails. While inmates are not able to access the internet, the program operated similarly to the public program: read a certain number of books and track progress. Those who completed the program by reading 15 books could request the jail library deliver a specific (and approved) book to their housing unit. In the programs first run at the jails, inmates returned 353 completed reading logs to the jail library. After the success of the Winter Reading Program, MCLD incorporated the same model for during its annual Summer Reading Program. With increased paper and word of mouth marketing, inmates returned 670 completed reading logs to the jail library during the Summer Reading Program.