Inmates take advantage of library access

COLUMBUS - Mysteries, westerns and legal thrillers are the books of choice for inmates at the Platte County Detention Facility.

Platte County Sheriff's Lt. Ted Pocwierz said their choices in literature tend to mirror their viewing habits.

"It's like their favorite television show is probably 'Law & Order' or 'Cops,'" Pocwierz said.

The inmate library has more than 1,300 titles in circulation, with boxes upon boxes of books that haven't yet been put on the shelves. Each title is numbered, and a list of those books is placed in each pod in the jail. Detainees can fill out a slip indicating which book they would like to check out.

"The library is maintained by an inmate worker. When inmates put in a request for a particular book, he comes in once a day and fills the order," Pocwierz said.

Magazines are included in the library. Inmates can choose from Time, Newsweek, People, Sports Illustrated and Motor Trend.

The magazines are quite popular and get torn up fairly quickly.

Inmates can have a total of four items from the library at a time. If they damage a book or magazine on purpose, they could lose some privileges, Pocwierz said. Old and haggard books are taken out of circulation, and books from the storage boxes are brought in to replace them.

"These books have all been donated by the good citizens of Platte County," Pocwierz said. "When we first opened up, we had asked if people had books, paperback books. We don't want hard cover because they could be used as a weapon against inmates and staff."

In fact, when he returned to his office from the library, a bag full of Bibles was waiting on his desk, a donation from a community member.

Bibles are in strong supply there, with tens of copies to be checked out, including some Spanish translations.

Excessively violent or sexual material is not permitted in the library, but Pocwierz said there is no movement to ban classics such as "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" or "To Kill a Mockingbird."

However, just because those books are there, does not mean the inmates are drawn to the literature.

A quick look at books that seemed to generate the most interest include "The 13th Warrior" by Michael Crichton, "Cyclops" by Clive Cussler, "The Key to Midnight" by Dean Koontz and "The Tommy Knockers" by Stephen King.

And while books can be donated, it would be futile for an inmate to have a particular title donated, because Pocwierz said it would go into the storage boxes until it is time to bring out new replacements.

Otherwise, it's too much trouble to keep updating the pod lists, he said.