Inmates at Men’s Central Jail celebrate reopening of library, closed due to COVID
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department held a media event at the reopening of the library at the Men’s Central Jail, which had been shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The library is in a new location in the jail, and Assistant Sheriff Sergio Aloma spoke about the need for a library for inmates. Robin Venturelli was warmly welcomed to the library, which years ago was named Hunter’s Library after her son Hunter, who she sent books when he was incarcerated at the huge jail.
The library will be welcomed by many in the aging jail where inmates cannot get to their court appearances due to the shortage of operable buses, and a significant percent of the men are awaiting pretrial and have not been found guilty of a crime. Some stay in jail because they can’t afford to post bail. About 4,300 men live in the jail.
Last year, a children’s library was opened at Men’s Central Jail so the children of men who are locked up can read and play with books in a special room while their moms visit their dads on a different floor. A plan to close Men’s Central Jail is expected to take at least five years.