Pa«*'4 Portland Observar Thursday. Juno 14. 1979
American State Bank
Behind the Wall
bv Larry Baker »15021
O.S.P. Correspondent
Zn John Kilter,
tio n a l a c tiv itie s to o n u m e ro u s to
name. Inmates at O .S .P . can count
on
th e ir
fin g e rs
th e ir
o n ly
recreational activities. They can go
to th e y a rd , p la y c a rd s , w a tc h
television, o r read. The passing o f
tim e is a big issue w ith inmates, they
frequently ta lk w ith me and discuss
the phitosO).' isa l aspects o f tim e .
When you stop and th in k that some
o f these people are doing 10 years o r
m ore its o ve rp o w e rin g . H o w a n y
one can stay in one restricted op
pressive, and sm all place fo r th a t
long and have any m ind le ft is really
amazing to me. I ’ d go s tir crazy i f I
had to spend one week locked up o r
at least th a t’ s w hat I th in k . M aybe I
w o u ld n 't o r maybe I w ould be able
to adjust as these people do, slow ly
but steadily. I ’ d fin d ways to make
the tim e pass, possible by reading
b o o k s a n d s p e n d in g tim e in th e
lib ra ry .
1 have ta lke d to several inm ates
w h o have done tim e in o th e r in
stitu tio n s and I always ask, “ Hey,
w hat about the lib ra ry ? ” Some say
th e O .S .P . lib r a r y , “ a in ’ t s h it,”
some say, “ i t ’ s o k a y ,” others say,
“ I t 's g re a t,” b u t tim e and tim e
again, 1 hear people say. they need it
to exist, to help pass tim e, to escape.
The lib ra ry serves over 2,000 in
mates in one m ain in s titu tio n and in
three separate satellite fa cilitie s. The
lib ra ry consists o f over 12.000 h a rd
bound books o f w hich there is yearly
tu rn o ve r o f ISO*'«. There is presently
130-150 m a g a zin e s a n d o v e r 30
various newspapers fro m all m a jo r
areas o t the state and several o u t-o f-
state areas are in c irc u la tio n . There is
also a com plete law lib ra ry , and a
re fe re n c e area th a t c o n ta in s 700
te le p h o n e b o o k s a n d re fe re n c e
v o lu m n s fro m n e a rly every m a jo r
city.
The O .S .P . lib ra ry relies heavily
u pon the State L ib ra ry C o lle c tio n
and the entire S .L . C o lle ctio n o f over
4 5 ,0 0 0 v o lu m n s are a v a ila b le fo r
O.S.P. Librarian
E v e ry h u m a n being engages in
som e fo r m o f m e n ia l escape,
whether it comes in the fo rm o f an
a fte r n o o n c o c k ta il o r an a n n u a l
vacation to the beach. People w ho
ha ve th e ir p h y s ic a l fre e d o m can
choose several alternative routes o f
escape, but in prison a convict has no
p h y s ic a l fre e d o m , th e r e fo re his
escape must be m ental, via his own
im a g in a tio n . The m ental escape in
p riso n has to come in some other
fo rm and fo r a large m a jo rity o f the
p ris o n p o p u la tio n th a t escape is
fo rm u la te d , via p rin te d m a te ria l.
The m ental escape fro m prison has
to come in some fo rm o th e r than
physical and fo r a large m a jo rity o f
the p riso n p o p u la tio n th a t escape
comes fro m reality through books,
via, the prison lib ra ry .
I was discussing this question o f
the im portance o f a prison lib ra ry
w ith several inmates in m y lib ra ry
one a fte rn o o n , and they had some
re a lly in te re s tin g and c o m p e llin g
comm ents. One o ld man, a life r said,
“ tim e passes slow ly in the jo in t, days
are the same, weeks are the same,”
He passes his tim e by traveling to
distant lands, co o kin g exotic dishes,
liv in g an a dventurous life th ro u g h
the books he reads in the lib ra ry . He
said, “ I have been most places on
e a rth , a n d am fa m ilia r w ith a
thousand cities and cultures. I have
been reading books fo r the last twenty
years, six books per week, one per
day, over fo rty books per m o n th and
over 500 per y e a r."
“ Y o u read f o r e n jo y m e n t and
education, people in prison read fo r
their lives,” another inm ate to ld me,
“ M an i f I d id n ’ t have books I ’ d be
dead. I ’ d ju st lay over and die, I ’ d
give it u p .”
I go home to a nice dog and a pretty
g irlfrie n d every evening and I enjoy
life in a m yria d assortment o f recrea
___
' ' The Bank that integration built '*
2737 N .E . U n io n
282 2216
<8| H e a r i n g A id ~[|gi
SURE WAY
TO BE SURE!
John Ritter, third from left, at work in the O.S.P. library.
check o u t, via the m ails. The S .L.
also o ffe rs research, periodicals, and
f ilm s e rv ic e to th e in m a te s a n d
th ro u g h S .L ,, the inmates have ac
cess to books in any other lib ra ry in
the state.
T h e lib r a r y o p e ra te s u n d e r the
e d u c a tio n a l d e p a rtm e n t w ith one
professional lib ra ria n to adm inister
th e lib r a r y w ith 18 c le rk s w h o
ope ra te a c o m p le te bo o k b in d e ry ,
s ta te lib r a r y , re fe re n c e ro o m ,
m a g a z in e , n e w sp a p e r and p a p e r
back check-out areas and the legal
lib r a r y a n d re g u la r lib r a r y . T h e
lib ra ry is open five days per week
processing some 500 books and han
d lin g a p p ro xim a te ly 250 inm ate re
quests.
the lig h t fantasy th rille r is the most
p o p u la r type o f book read, but all
b o o ks, magazines and newspapers
are w ell used.
A n inm ate reads on the average
o f tw o b o o k s p e r w eek, so in a
p o p u la tio n o f 1,500, that means that
over 126,000 books are read every
Our 30-DAY Test-Trial Plan is the truly practical way
to choose a Hearing Aid
year. This above all w o u ld seem to
substantiate the im p o rta n ce o f the
prison lib ra ry . N o co m m u n ity w ith a
p o p u la rto n s im ila r to the p riso n s
u tilize a lib ra ry so m uch. T hough the
lib ra ry is used in a large part as a
means to escape the d a ily boredom
o l prison, it is also used heavily by
inm ates w h o are in sch o o l d o in g
research and by p riso n s ta ff as a
resource fa c ility . The lib ra ry is used
as a vehicle th ro u g h w hich inmates
can m a in ta in contact w ith the o u t
side w o r ld , v ia n e w sp a p e rs and
magazines.
The lib ra ry is an integral part o f
the re h a b ilita tio n program in that fo r
some people this w ill be the o n ly o p
p o rtu n ity to r them to use a lib ra ry or
have access to one alm ost anytim e.
I am equally correct in stating that
th e p re se n t a d m in is t r a t o r ( M r .
C u p p ) o f O .S .P . a lso places the
lib ra ry high on the list o f p rio ritie s
fo r the prison, in that he has seen fit
to g iv e th e lib r a r y a m o re th e n
adequate budget and sta ff.
It s the SURE Way to determine that YOUR individu
al Hearing Needs are met completely
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FREE
N r ie n llfir H e n rln g Teat
- by on» ot our LicwiMd Mttnng Aid Film j
There is No Obligation
NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED
Many Models to Choose From
Including
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UKIUl C R E D IT
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-2 3 7 -7 3 9 0
Located In SEMLER OPTICAL Offices
*«•» Slraai Lonoi Location
S.W 3rd A YAMHILL
mum
IC mmowc M
rowtumo
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U S 4 I7 U
MHRC holds annual meeting
The M e tro p o lita n H u m a n R ela
tio n s C o m m is s io n 's A n n u a l M e e t
ing w ill be held at 7:30 p .m ., June
21st at the C oliseum T h u n d e rb ird ,
1225 N. T h u n d e rb ird W ay. D inner
w ill be preceded by a no-host social
ho u r.
T h e C ity - C o u n ty h u m a n rig h ts
c o m m is s io n
was
o r ig in a lly
e s ta b lis h e d as th e In te r g r o u p
R e la tio n s C o m m is s io n in M a rc h
1950 u n d e r M a y o r D o ro th y M c
C u llo u g h Lee. M s. Lee has been in
v ite d to be a special guest at the
meeting.
H ig h lig h tin g the evening w ill be a
speech by D r. Thom as E. G addis,
n o te d a u th o r o f Btrdman o f
C lip «
this ad B
G o o d ’o r «
? fO m ^ a » o n s J
r> M zer a r x i q u e s t ■
J’■
V a lu e
jO rru s s K in o n e f * n e o n ly ™
YHOUNDl
racing !
MAY IITH I
THRU■
AUG I8 T H I
P O S T T IM G l
AT 7:30 P M !
.
I
1
I
I
I "
I
A ■ ' o rx » d z v n < *l C u f S 3 > W » e w «
fund J
N F ? .~ 3 rd v x J
PO
Si
a
Alcatraz.
Sorry.«
, ' k iren under ».
Special re co g n itio n w ill be given to
the citizen volunteers o f the new and
h ig h ly successful M e d ia tio n P roject,
and the C o m m is s io n ’ s com m ittees
on E d u ca tio n , E m p lo ym e n t, Equal
3 jd rrW M K j«
H a - ' j M c n c U v IT r ' m Q h S a tu rd a y ™
I MULTNOMAH I
|M E N N G ^ U J B |
"Th« PRODUCE CENTER •< PORTLAND
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APPLES
R O M E BEAUTY
APPLES
33 1
Justice, and H ousing.
T h e C o m m is s io n ’ s 1978-79 A n
nual R eport w ill be presented; copies
can be obtained by c a llin g 248-4187.
Langston U.
seeks
president
The A & M B o a rd o f Regents is
n o w a c c e p tin g resum es o r a p
p lica tio n s fro m any person w ho is in
terested in being considered fo r the
presidency o f Langston U niversity.
Langston U n ive rsity is located about
45 miles n o rth o f O klahom a C ity.
Lang sto n U n iv e rs ity is a fo u r-ye a r
in s titu tio n w ith a current enrollm ent
o f about 1,100 students.
A n y person desiring in fo rm a tio n
concerning this p o sitio n should w rite
to the A & M B oard o f Regents whose
o ffic e is R oom 452, O liv e r Hodge
Building, O klahom a C ity, Oklahoma
73105.
F o r a person to be assured o f con
s id e ra tio n , a p p lic a tio n s o r resumes
must be received by the A & M Board
o f Regents on o r b e fo re J u ly 23,
1979.
A ll c o m m u n ica tio n s should be in
w ritin g to the address listed above.
•
3?’ 1 °° J
FRESH SWEET
-,
CORN
H E IN Z ASSORTED
BBQ
SAUCES
69
PORK A BEANS
LOU-Z-AN* TINY COCKTAIL
BONELESS FUUY-COOKED
DRY
CURED
HAMS
Yi or
W hole
$ |6 9
rw
2/*1 •
’ 1°’ !
MED CHEDDAR
OR
MONT JACK
cheese :
I PUKES GOOD THRU SAT. JUNE 1* 1979
SHERIDAN FRUIT Co.
S.E U N IO N A O A K
O
D
U
S
' •Xzzyjzzî'.izz/ X aie<a/ts a a / a n e / jte e e /m e n /
e n /e i
1518 NE KILLINGSWORTH
PORTLAND. OREGON 97211
284 7997
JUNE 1979
EXO DUS
ON SUMMERTIME:
Summertime is the peak of nature's growth —
respect it soberly.
ON THE DIMENSIONS OFTHE WORLD:
There are two worlds; the world that we can
measure with line and rule, and the world that
we feel with our hearts and imaginations.
Leigh Hunt
/e « «
H A lf T S 30 •< TINS
c SHRIMP
X
ON REPUTATION:
To disregard what the world thinks of us is not
only arrogant but utterly shameful.
Cicero
□MESTONE
LETTUCE
E
235 93 53
She’s unmarried.
She’s pregnant.
She needs help.
She should call
221-0598
O irth rig h t
free confidential
counseling for
pregnant girls
Mayer Building at
1130 S.W Morrison
ON REPUTATION:
A person has a reputation, and is no longer
FREE, but must respect it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
ON REPUTATION:
The solar system has no anxiety about its
reputation.
Ralph Waldo Emerson