Pressing for a space where inmates can read

A reading room is available in every jail in the state of Ohio.

Ahh, not true. But for the last four years, that is what I believed.

Every jail that had partnered with our nonprofit literacy program, Story Chain, had a reading room, so I was surprised when I learned there was no requirement to have one.

Reading rooms, it turned out, were merely suggested by a faithful and political savvy steward of the governor’s residence, former First Lady Hope Taft.

Not long ago Maj. Chad Thompson from the Franklin County Sheriff ’s Office politely corrected my mistake, when I insisted at a national jail association conference about reading rooms. He had the easy patience of a sage and has no doubt heard before from civilians like myself who have no earthly idea what it takes to build a $290 million jail. I foolishly boasted jail requirements to a man who knows more about it than I ever will.

Maj. Thompson replied tactfully that nothing suggests any county jail is required to have a reading room ... and he would know. He has read every building standard and code pertaining to jail construction in Ohio and is now in the process of opening a new jail in Franklin County. His will have a fully operated mental health division, addiction treatment services, along with social and reentry programming. But the only statutory requirement is for a jail administrator to provide access to reading materials.

There is no mandate ordering jails to have reading rooms. So, other than having dynamic sheriffs, why do we have reading rooms in jails?

Hope Taft and I have been corresponding since I met her at a business luncheon in Xenia. It was then that she asked, “How are my reading rooms doing?” I told her that without the reading rooms Story Chain — which records inmates reading to their children, to maintain a family connection during their time behind bars — would be hard pressed to have the success it is enjoying. She nodded emphatically. She knew she was in front of a true fan of the reading room initiative — but as it turns out, there wasn’t any initiative at all.

Taft, when she was first lady, merely suggested reading rooms to officers from Pickaway Correctional Facility after hearing about a prison community service component that made bookshelves. News articles reported she made this suggestion but there was no mandated policy or written rule of any kind.

The Pickaway Correctional Institution ran with the reading room idea, which eventually influenced space available in all 32 state prison facilities. There was no mention of county jails and yet, county jail reading rooms are common. Some sheriff offices, no doubt, on their own initiative created opportunities for communal reading. But, I imagine, if you were the first lady of this great state and you suggest a good idea ... people will listen.

Literacy must have its place in institutions dedicated to rehabilitation and mental-health stability. Astute leaders such as Maj. Thompson are taking that responsibility right to the front line and this new jail, by the way, will not have a reading room. Instead, they decided to build a library, as well as placing and stocking bookshelves in each housing unit! And while Hope Taft stays active with conservation efforts and other fascinating nonprofits, our Story Chain family is continuously thankful for the trend she started and the suggestion she made.