Newly arriving books are first checked -- removing miscellaneous letters, bookmarks, identifying names etc. that may have been left in the pages -- and then they are sorted. Notably worn paperbacks and those of which we have multiple copies are boxed for maximum security. All of the remaining books are labeled and entered into the library collections. As there are six separate libraries within the Utah State Prison, duplicate copies are distributed among the libraries. Topics are also considered depending on the interests and typical requests of inmates in those units, such as books on crocheting are more frequently checked out by women while biographies of football players typically have more readers who are men. At this point the books are then checked a second time for anything that may have been left in them.
Books new to the libraries spend their first two months on the "New Arrivals" shelves where they get especially high visibility after which they take their places in the rest of the collection.
