Salespersons used the local phone book and began calling numbers listed under "Provincial Correctional Institutions." Librarians themselves were, of course, the most helpful. Not all institutions have libraries. Those that do are often only serviced part-time in the evenings and have limited budgets for acquisitions. But the librarians were often grateful to be solicited, since most booksellers do not appear to make the time for visits to prison libraries. Path-fin-der's titles on Black history proved a real draw-ing card.

Through their initial contact with prison librarians, salespeople have been all the more convinced of the need to get Pathfinder titles into these institutions. The Ontario prison system is in a process of restructuring, whereby a number of institutions are scheduled for closure and amalgamation into a series of "superjails."

Because of the construction this entails, inmates in at least one site have been in lock-down for months. They cannot go to the library themselves to get their books. The librarian is supposed to give them up to four books every week, but can usually not service each inmate more than once every two or three weeks, even with the help of outside volunteers.

Katy LeRougetel is a member of the Graphic Communications International Union.  
 
 
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