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Barry MacHale: Whatcom County Jail librarian

CDN's weekly community profile

Barry MacHale leans on a box of books Jan. 22 at the Whatcom County Library System Administrative Services building in Bellingham. MacHale works for the Jail Library Service program, which receives withdrawn books from WCLS and a $4,000 annual budget from the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department to purchase books for people incarcerated at the county jail. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
By Jaya Flanary Digital Editor/Designer

Barry MacHale (he/him)

Age: 49

City: Bellingham

Lived here for: 13 years

Originally from: Santa Monica, California

Notable: Jail librarian for Whatcom County Library System’s Jail Library Service program, social worker, Employment and Education Coordinator at Northwest Youth Services, avid reader, cyclist.

Tell me about how, when and why you got started with the Jail Library Service program.

This is my side hustle. I left teaching and I took a part time job doing social work, and I needed more income. My partner was subscribed to the WCLS employment Listserv and told me that there was an opening for jail services and that I should apply. I was skeptical, but I just decided to, and I got the job. I’ve been doing this for a little over seven years.

What does a general work week look like?

The jail is my primary work location. I come here (WCLS Administrative Services office) maybe twice a month to get magazines and other materials that the branches have sent to me. The contract is for one day a week, so I have eight hours to do this whole program per week.

The jail library is just a repurposed mop closet. It’s very long and skinny, and it’s definitely not ideal, but we make do. I’ll collect all my kites (inmate request forms) from my mailbox, which is in the booking area, and then I’ll file them in my organizer … I’ll make up all my magazine and newspaper packs to serve 16 tanks on three floors. It’s a process, but it’s one of the most popular features of the library program — they just love magazines. I’m constantly trying to find more magazines to feed the beast.

Barry MacHale stands outside a tank with his book cart Jan. 24 at Whatcom County Jail. Editor’s note: Faces have been blurred to respect the privacy of incarcerated individuals. (Photo courtesy of Barry MacHale)

 

A dormitory tank where people are in bunk beds in a giant open space, I can just roll up with the book cart and open the hatch and do service through the hatch … I always transact business at eye level with the patron on the other side, so I’m often stooping down and then helping them select.

Do you know how many books are in the collection?

That’s one of the the shortcomings of the current program is that there’s no catalog, because it’s not possible to keep track of where any given book is at any given time. My ability to put books into a tank or cell is much greater than my ability to get them back. The staff time it would take to catalog and maintain a collection just has been prohibitive. But it’s my hope that there will be infrastructure at the new jail facility to support that.

What is the importance of keeping books accessible to incarcerated folks?

There’s a lot of value to reading while incarcerated. There’s just the sheer escape — the ability to escape in our mind from our current worries or current situation, even if temporarily. There’s reading for diversion and for pleasure and for recreation. But then there’s also reading for information … One of my most popular books is how to start a small business.

[Also] the ability to engage with someone who doesn’t have a direct connection to your incarceration … I’m not a deputy, I’m not nursing staff. I just am there, kind of as a separate entity, and I can listen and preserve people’s dignity by just serving them without any kind of favor. You know, it doesn’t matter why they’re there. They all get the same library services, and that’s, I think, a radical gesture in today’s society. 

Barry MacHale organizes books in the jail library in November 2023. He said the most popular book genres are graphic novels, mystery and crime (James Patterson and Janet Evanovich), thrillers (Ruth Ware) and sci-fi fantasy, however magazines like National Geographic, People, Us Weekly, and ones that feature tattooing and automobiles are always in demand. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)


“Faces in the Crowd” is published online and in print Fridays. Have a suggestion for a “Faces in the Crowd” subject? Email us at newstips@cascadiadaily.com.

Jaya Flanary is CDN's designer/digital editor; reach her at jayaflanary@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 106.

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