Alcatraz Library on D Block used a catalog of books left behind by it's army days, newspapers were prohibited while magazine subscriptions could be tolerated

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 Gps Coordinates  /  37.8264155,-122.4229654

Alcatraz Prison Library 2015 VR Alcatraz Island

RHGG+HR7 Tiburon, California, USA

Alcatraz Library was located at the end of D-Block. Upon entering Alcatraz, every inmate was given a library card and a catalog of books found in the library.

 Inmates were permitted a maximum of three books in addition of up to twelve text books, a Bible, and a dictionary.

Link Location Gps -122.4228977

Gps Coordinates  /  37.8264992,-122.4228977

Inmates could place orders by putting a slip with their card in a box at the entrance to the dining hall before breakfast, and the books would be delivered to and from their cell by a librarian.

 The library, which utilized a closed-stack paging system, had a collection of 10,000 to 15,000 books, mainly left over from the army days.

 Link Location Gps  /  Gps Link -122.4229995  /  Gps Link -122.4228938  /  Gps Link -122.4229243  /  Gps Link -122.4229521

Gps Coordinates  /  37.8264393,-122.4229995  /  37.8264205,-122.4228938  /  37.8264491,-122.4229243  /  37.8264689,-122.4229521

They were permitted to subscribe to magazines but crime-related pages were torn out and newspapers were prohibited.

 Failure to return books by the date given made the inmate liable to removal of privileges. The average prisoner read 75 to 100 books a year.

Link Location Gps -122.4228398

Gps Coordinates  /  37.8264514,-122.4228398

Sex, crime and violence were censored from all books and magazines, and the library was governed by a chaplain who regulated the censorship and the nature of the reading material to ensure that the material was wholesome.