Washington inmate of 15 years donates money to prison library

ABERDEEN, Wash. — An inmate who has been incarcerated at a prison in Aberdeen for 15 years showed his appreciation for the library with a donation of $200.

Laura Sherbo, the Washington State Library program manager in charge of state corrections center libraries, received a letter and $200 from an inmate named Brian at Stafford Creek Corrections Center.
The libraries provide inmates with a place to read, learn and prepare to re-enter society.

Here is Brian’s letter:

Dear Mrs. Sherbo:

Please find enclosed with this letter a donation of $200.00, made payable to the "Washington State Library." The enclosed donation is given on the condition that it be allocated to the Washington State Library at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center, in care of Jeannie Remillard.

I have been confined here at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center for nearly fifteen years, and the library is my most appreciated privilege allowed within the confines of the correctional facility. I have witnessed Mrs. Remillard's budget go from tens of thousands to literally less than a few thousand. And through it all, good Mrs. "Meannie Jeannie" Remillard (an institutional librarian) has found ways to make her paper-thin budget stretch, keeping us prisoners stocked with reading materials and other literary programs.

While not a significant amount, I pray that my donation helps Mrs. Remillard to keep the Washington State Library at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center operating. Thank you all (Ana, Ken and yourself included) for your service and time at the library.

The Washington State Library partners with the Department of Corrections and Department of Social and Health Services to provide library services to inmates in nine adult correctional facilities and patients in two adult psychiatric hospitals, Western State Hospital and Eastern State Hospital.

It is also the only state library in America that provides prison library services that include library facilities and in-house staff. The Washington State Library has run its institutional libraries for more than 50 years.

People who are interested in supporting the Washington State Library and its programs like the Institutional Library Services can make a donation to the Washington State Center Trust by going here.

Cox Media Group