New books for Vermont prison inmates

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - People behind bars in Vermont are getting new reading material. It’s thanks to federal rescue plan money.

More than $42,000 is being spent on books for the state’s six correctional facilities.

The books range from fiction to nonfiction in a wide variety of topics.

Vermont State Librarian Catherine Delneo said they did a massive order because there hasn’t been much new reading material coming in.

“The libraries in the correctional facilities had materials as they headed into the COVID-19 pandemic, but there was a limited amount of new material coming in, particularly through the donations that they used to receive. So this is really a way to just refresh all of the materials,” Delneo said.

The books are chosen by the library consultant for inclusive services at the Department of Libraries, who worked with the recreation coordinators at the prisons to find out what people were interested in reading.

Watch the video to see our Cat Viglienzoni’s full conversation with Catherine Delneo.

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