Services > Outreach to Adults > Jail Services
Jail Services
Library Outreach Services provides library service to the county jails, through a cooperative arrangement with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
A Library Outreach Specialist selects books for each of the living units in the county jails. Recreational reading is geared to inmate literacy, language and reading interests. Informational reading includes recovery, jobs, life skills, domestic violence and other practical subjects.
- Moving On
- a booklet of useful phone numbers published by Library Outreach, is given to each inmate. Moving On is also used by Sheriff’s officers on the beat, and by community organizations such as Portland Community College.
- Book discussion groups
- Inmates participate in book discussion groups led by library staff and volunteers. These literacy development groups acquaint inmates with new ideas and library services.
- Books Without Barriers
- Books Without Barriers is a 3-session early literacy program for inmates who are parents. They learn about brain development, the importance of early literacy, and how to choose and present books that are appropriate to the ages of their child. The jails coordinator makes DVDs of the parent reading a book, and the book and DVD are presented to their children.