Hall County Jail seeking book donations

What used to be a padded cell in the Hall County Jail has served as its library.

The cramped 4-by-6-foot room holds bookshelves double stacked with mostly paperbacks and an occasional hardcover.

Peeking through the cell door's small window or its former food pass-through, one can see a small table piled with magazines.

But the approaching opening of the new Hall County Jail brings with it a dedicated room for books and legal research. It has an actual library -- complete with shelves, a work table and chairs, but not enough books to fill it.

Cpl. Todd Kool is trying to change that.

He has launched a public campaign to get donated books for the library.

"We'll take anything," Kool said. "Well, anything but romance novels. These guys really don't like to read romance novels."

What they do like are legal novels by John Grisham, action stories and mysteries.

"I read a lot of Westerns," said inmate Michael West as he checked out Burt Kennedy's "Once Upon a Texas Train."

Many of the jail's inmates visit the library daily. They can check out one book and one magazine per visit.

Kool said once the new jail opens, he hopes to have enough donated books to fill the shelves. Then a jail trustee -- a minimum-security inmate who is cleared to work on labor crews -- can be assigned to alphabetize the collection.

Every year, the jail purchases a few books for the library collection using the proceeds from commissary sales to inmates, but it's not enough to keep up with demand.

"With more inmates, we'll need more books," Kool said.

He has already gotten a few donations from the city library, the Salvation Army and Goodwill, but hopes other book lovers will contribute.

To make a donation, call Kool Monday through Friday to arrange a time to drop off the books. Kool can be reached at 385-5211.







Donate books to the jail

If you have books or magazines to donate for the Hall County Jail library, call 385-5211. Ask for Cpl. Todd Kool.