Alcatraz Library
Alcatraz Library was a library for inmates at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. It was located at the end of D-Block. On entering Alcatraz, every inmate received a library card[1] and a catalog of books found in the library. An inmate would order a book by putting a slip with their card in a box at the entrance to the dining hall before breakfast, and a librarian took the order to and from their cell.[2][3] The library, which used a closed-stack paging system, had a collection of 10,000 to 15,000 books, mainly left over from Alcatraz's army days.[4][2][3]
Inmates were permitted a maximum of three books in addition to up to 12 text books, a Bible, and a dictionary.[3] They were permitted to subscribe to magazines but crime-related pages were torn out and newspapers were prohibited.[2] Crime and violence were prohibited from all books and magazines, and the library was governed by a chaplain who regulated the censorship and the nature of the reading material to ensure that the material was wholesome.[3][4] Failure to return books by the date given made the inmate liable to removal of privileges.[3]
A sign in the library today displays an extract from the
A library scene in Alcatraz appeared in the 1979
References
- ISBN 978-1-4521-0153-8. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-25607-1. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-88-8029-940-0. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- ^ a b c "Minimum Privileges". Alcatraz101.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013.
- ^ "For Desperate or Irredeemable Types United States Federal Penitentiary Alcatraz". A History of Alcatraz Island, 1847-1972, Historic Resources Study. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
37°49′35″N 122°25′22″W / 37.82639°N 122.42278°W
