Vending machine at Allegheny County Jail offers books to kids visiting loved ones
A vibrant machine at the Allegheny County Jail is catching a lot of eyes.
"It has beautiful colors, and it talks to you," said Connie Clark, deputy warden for programs and services at the Allegheny County Jail.
So much so that it drew Kylie Vargo's kids over.
"As soon as they walked in, they wondered what was in there," said Vargo, a parent.
Usually, people expect one of these machines to pop out a soda.
"They're used to looking at snacks and them," Vargo said.
But this time? Books are the draw.
"It's very thoughtful to have something like that," Vargo said.
"We wanted to make this space more engaging for children," Clark said.
It's an addition that people like Connie Clark at the Allegheny County Jail are stoked about.
"This was one other opportunity for us to offer a positive experience for children visitors to the jail," she said.
The offer was born out of something similar.
"I had read an article about a vending machine in a family court in Alabama," said Carrie Lane, youth services coordinator for the Allegheny County Library Association. "I loved the idea, and I wanted to see if we could replicate that here."
And the Allegheny County Library Association worked to do just that.
"The Allegheny County Library Association came to me with this idea that they wanted to do this," state Rep. Lindsey Williams, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania's 38th Senate District, said. "Myself and Sen. Costa were supportive of a grant request through the DCED, Department of Community and Economic Development."
The next step was finding books.
"It's really important to me to shop local and support a small independent bookstore," Lane said.
Lane turned to Spark Books in Aspinwall.
"They have supported us in some of our other literacy projects, so I chose to use them again for this project," she said.
She says she wanted to make sure some of the selections are tailored to real-life experiences.
"I wanted to make sure they saw some of themselves in the books," Lane said. "''From the Desk of Zoe Washington' is a middle grade book where her father is incarcerated."
It all starts with putting in a token.
"They receive a book," Clark said. "The book is free of charge. It's theirs to keep."
And it's something the ACLA and the jail hope gives these kids somewhat of a positive.
"For anyone to have a loved one that's incarcerated, it's a really stressful situation," Clark said. "They have an opportunity to have a more positive experience here at the jail and with our correctional officer staff."
And maybe during that experience, they learn to love reading, too.
"Books change lives and getting more books in the hands of kids? I think we're all better off in the long run," Williams said.
Lane said that there will be another machine going in soon. The next location will be at the Allegheny County Family Court on Ross Street.
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