In July of 2012 DC Department of Corrections began a Video Visitation program that replaced the standard face to face visits between inmates and their family and friends. All people wishing to visit incarcerated family and friends would travel to a visitor’ center, located adjacent to the jail, for their video visit. The center is located in a fairly isolated part of the city without full public transportation options. Due to the limited number of video visitation booths and demand, the select evening and weekend appointments go quickly.

The pilot program, which began September 2013, provides a video monitor at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library (MLKML) which is located in the center of the city and easily accessible by all 5 of the subway lines. Appointments are available three days each week for a total of 12 hours. DC Jail is responsible for the equipment including installation and maintenance and controls the scheduling process. DCPL is responsible for the customer experience once the visitor enters the library. Library staff check the visitor and contact DC Jail to begin the online connection. Visitors are then directed to the Video Visitation room. In addition, there is posted information targeting non-library users including: Library card applications, GED testing preparation information, and the schedules for the library’s free computer classes and children’s story times. The video visitation option at the MLK library allows hundreds of people to experience the library environment and connect to the many resources available.

Our most noticeable outcomes are in the form of return visits and inquiries from Visitors for other library services and programs. Before and after the Video Visit, Visitors use our public PCs and visit the children’s room. This project has resulted in a spin-off of an outreach effort to the main Video Visitation site by library staff.