This is the question everyone always asks, when you tell them you work in a prison library. The next being, have you ever seen Shawshank Redemption? The question is asked with all innocence and with no real aspect of what it is like to work in a prison. So you have to laugh and tell them what it is really like. Here is my answer when people ask me: Sometimes. The daily basis of my job is just like anyone else who works in a library, except I may have to go through a few more doors and gates then the average library worker. I help the patrons; find books, find answers, help them with their homework, and everything else that you see in a general public library. The only major difference for me is, there are no children or women, the patrons of my library are men, 18+. The times I get scared are when I get a patron who may be off his meds, and he is having a bad day and becomes agitated, but then again I just described a sitution that I have faced in public libraries as well. The major difference here, is that when I call for help I don't have to wait 20 minutes for the police to arrive, I am looking at more of a couple of minutes, and in some cases seconds. So yes I get scared sometimes, but I also know that someone is on the way to help me. Oh, and yes I have seen Shawshank Redemption, good movie.
