Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2026

COAST NOTE
Books Behind
BARSPicasso’s
Don Quixote
story by Lynn Lofton
TURNING PAGES TOWARD A BRIGHTER FUTURE
Have any books you no longer want? A Gulfport
woman can find a home for them. Believing that literacy
can change lives, Pat West, a retired instructor at
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, has joined
with others throughout the state to stock libraries at the
state’s correctional facilities. Collecting used paperback
books is the heart of the project.
The program is administered through the Mississippi
Humanities Council in collaboration with the
Institutions of Higher Learning. The community
colleges are involved and teach classes at some of the
facilities.
“Collecting books is not much effort but the payoff is
huge,” West said. “I put out the appeal and people bring
books. They must be paperback as a hardback could be
used to make a weapon. I go through them to make sure
no one has left any type of identification in them. We’re
trying to create readers, and people at these facilities
have time on their hands.”
West, who was a staff writer for the Daily Herald, says
for the books most anything goes except no books with
adult content or violence. The libraries are at male
and female correctional facilities. “We sometimes get
requests for certain books. There has been a request
from the Vicksburg facility for Spanish language
books,” she said.
Lest anyone think all inmates have a low reading level,
West reminds that there are people in prison from all
walks of life. “Nationwide statistics find that many
inmates will get out of prison; not all are serving life
sentences. Most have not killed anyone,” she said.
“There are so many ramifications, humanity tells us.”
At some of the prison libraries, book clubs have been
formed with club members choosing the books.
“Amazingly, at the Wilkinson County facility they chose
Don Quixote, a classic read worldwide,” West said.
“I’m told they really get into the discussions.”
The community colleges teach classes to earn the
General Equivalent Diploma for high school and
some college-level classes. Last year the first class at
Parchman State Prison graduated with AA degrees.
“If they leave with an Associate’s Degree, they have
a chance to be employed. With limited access to
computers, books are a great help in improving reading
skills for these classes,” West said.
You can reach West at patriciascottwest@gmail.com.
18 | October 2026 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living