Down for the Count

Rating:
Summary: A book you can truly count on
Review: In this highly readable, passionate account of applying library science principles in a correctional setting, Ms.Vogel has performed an invaluable service to librarians and the inmates they work with. She describes lucidly the struggles librarians have had with uninterested and even hostile correctional professionals, and she presents constructive solutions. She details the problems of working with inmates, including the behaviors to watch out for. The book goes into the dilemma of preserving the principles of freedom of information while still adhering to rules that restrict inmates from acquiring "dangerous" knowledge (for example, texts that describe how locks function). Concise yet complete descriptions are given of prison library history and the research (or unfortunate dearth of it) that has gone into this vital but neglected area of librarianship. There is an extensive bibliography of useful sources. The need for legal as well as leisure reading sources is covered well. Vogel is perhaps too pessimistic about the library's role in providing rehabilitation, although those of us who have been exposed to the politics of correctional institutions can see why she would have this point of view. But Down For The Count is on the whole a landmark work that underscores why prison libraries must be grounded in the major principles of library science. It is an essential work that should be read not just by prison librarians but anyone truly interested in advancing correctional education.