Overdue: A Dewey Decimal System of Grace

by Valerie Schultz

Valerie Schultz almost stumbled into prison ministry, a happy accident of a beginning. Initially fearful of the scary people she’d meet and the dark place she’d be working, she found that some inmates were dangerous, but many were kind; some were mean and some were friendly; some were misogynistic and some were respectful; some were quiet and some were loud. In short, they were a lot like the non-incarcerated population.

As Schultz went from volunteering to working in a clerical position and then running a library on a yard, she learned to see the prisoners as human beings. They possessed all the quirks and gifts and flaws, the nobility and the sin, that define humanity—every single one of them a human being created and loved by God. It was no challenge to find God in all things in prison, because God was palpably everywhere.

In Overdue , Schultz shares what she learned and the grace she received during her fourteen years inside an American prison. Her experience and insights will transform how you see the people around you and the world we all share.

Genres: Memoir, Spirituality, Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2019

Reviews

[David Freudenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memoir from a woman who was the librarian at a men's jail in California. Arranged as short vignettes of less than three pages each. Very informative, enlightening, and inspiring. I never knew so much about life in jail, both for the inmates, and for the employees. She describes her job and the inmates who used the library as patrons, volunteers, or employees. Each story focuses on one event or concept. The book is superficially religious because the author has also done church ministry in jails.

[Penelope Pugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I read this and learned more about life in prison from the perspective of a prison librarian.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

September 27, 2019

A Review by Anthony T. Riggio of the book: Overdue (A Dewey Decimal System of Grace) by Valerie Schultz

This book was loaned to me by a fellow parishioner at St. Rita and she thought I would enjoy reading.
She thought I would appreciate the content because of years in Law Enforcement. I was initially hesitant because it was about prison and throughout my career, I was responsible for many incarcerations of many felons based on investigations.

The author Valerie Schultz worked at a penitentiary in California first as a Catholic volunteer and then as the librarian in an all male wing or yard at this medium security institution. There were a wide spectrum of offenders from white collar offenders to rapists, to murders and some violent offenders serving long sentences including life terms. My wife had entertained working for the prison ministries but I was and still am against it for her. She has trusted my judgment because there is so much she has never experienced with this class of violators. Let me set-out that I am in favor of prison reforms and reforms that an offender would be able to improve his/her life and eventually be free of the indelible stigma of having a felony record, This unfortunately, may be well into the future.

The author, Valerie Schultz is a superb writer and her memoir kept me interested through out my reading and taught me things I only guessed at about the reality of prison life. It is necessarily harsh and a subculture mentality is a necessary ingredient for survival. Schultz in her fifteen years of running the library at this institution took on a Herculean job of organizing and supervising several inmates as her assistants to aid and manage other in the use of the facilities. Prison libraries are not comparable to the public's concept of a public library. The prison library had none of the expected technologies available to the outside library users. The absence of computers mandated that inmates had to prepare their legal documents for appeals and other personal matters by use of a limited number of typewriters. The deprivations of conveniences for self education and keeping up with legal matters were just a small inconvenience of many issues. The needs required for simple comforts were always de minimis and borderline tortuous. The subjectiveness to shake down searches were always looming and punishment for infractions of the rules were like the sword of Damocles threatening to fall on the inmates and vicariously on the staff.

Incarceration is not a normal existence and it has deep psychological and impacts on each individual but it is part of a system confused between punishment and rehabilitation. As a retired Law Enforcement Official I have always questioned the efficacy of these two conflicting concepts; plus, we brand a felon forever which insure he/she will perform differently in our society.

This book is a must read for anyone wishing to take part in a reformation process of our penal systems.
I highly recommend reading this book as it is also interwoven with the spiritual joys we sometimes forget about when tending to the needs of the incarcerated. While I am not one of those people I am thankful for those who are but I would have to add great cautions in dealing with criminals, they are clever beyond our initial thoughts.

I gave this work Five Stars out of Five and highly recommend it to all my friends on Goodreads and those who read my reviews on Amazon.

[Elyse Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the fascinating anecdotes about working in a prison library, interspersed with the occasional spiritual comment. Having started visiting the prison as part of her Catholic parish ministry, Schultz ends up working in the library. Written in a breezy style, her personal philosophy and social justice ideas are underlying, but she doesn't hit us over the head with them. The entire book and the way she approaches her work IS the message, i.e., she sees Christ in each prisoner.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

We all make mistakes: run late, spill our coffee, forget someone's name, or sign up for the wrong thing. Little mistakes with little consequences that are forgotten easily. However little mistakes can turn into bigger things: signing up for the wrong thing (during a mix-up of her church's ministry meetings) had the author of this book, Schultz, go from serving the weekly communion at the local penitentiary to becoming a prison librarian. Not what she expected!

Schultz re-imagines prison as a penitentiary, from the early root word meaning "from the Latin poenitentia, meaning repentance, or the desire to be forgiven... Once upon a time, a penitentiary was a place one could go to reflect on one's religious transgressions and ask forgiveness of God. And in early America, a penitentiary was different from a prison in that its purpose was reform rather than punishment." (p. 266, Ch. 9) While Schultz desires reform, she is clear-eyed about the men inside the prison. The men also struggled with how to view Schultz: was she a whore or a Madonna? She holds no aspersions about the crimes the men (some of them were barely more than boys) committed or who they are, rather she frequently struggles with the ideas of forgiveness and humanity. Can a person change? Can a person be forgiven? (Some of this is based on Schultz's personal faith and some of this is based on general belief in who humans are.) She also wanted the men to see her own humanity and failings and learn that women and men are equal.

Told through the use of the Dewey Decimal System for each chapter heading; the library-nerd in me appreciated this. Sometimes though this format felt a bit forced. Some of this book was previously published as essays and maybe that is why some of the chapters didn't quite line up throughout. I found it fascinating and sometimes a bit almost intimidating how quickly it seemed that Schultz went from being a volunteer to a prison librarian. Though she did talk throughout how time-consuming and tedious the prison system was for trying to get anything accomplished, even for something like putting up a bulletin board or getting permission for starting a newsletter. I have a new appreciation now for the intricacies of bureaucracy.

My favorite chapter, was "700 Art & Recreation" which had a list (from books donated to the prison library) of "items found in books, often functioning as bookmarks:
homemade string
plastic tooth flossers, used and unused
candy wrappers
important legal documents
free Bible pamphlets
trust account statements
mail order photos of sexy girls with cleavage and/or visible butt cheeks
old envelopes, faded and soft from handling
canteen receipts
pictures torn from the library's magazines
a postcard from Paris, breezily signed by a famous musician parent
any item that had been laminated
hair"
We have had books donated to the library (pre-COVID) and items returned to the library; library staff like to trade stories about the really strange items that are returned as "bookmarks." Yes, a slice of raw bacon really happened (and lunch meat too!). A piece of American Cheese still limply in its wrapper. Money in the form of bills or checks (we return these). Tampons, toilet paper, pads, bandaids...thankfully, the ones I have found were all unused. Too many family and class pictures to count. Bills and notices long past due. Stickers, used lollipop sticks, and tiny bits of toys or broken parts of jewelry. Receipts, innumberable, and doodles galore (I am guilty of these). Playing cards, Christmas and birthday cards have all been jammed between the pages of books. Library workers see the mundane and the bizarre.

What I appreciated most about Schultz's time and her work at the prison library is what I believe about libraries fundamentally. Outside of the library we may carry burdens; the world may try to do everything in its power to break us or make us the worst versions of ourselves. When we come to the library, it is a safe space for everyone. As Schultz wrote, "The yard could be a harsh judge...For me, the yard existed outside the doors of the library. Conflicts and and prejudices belonged out on the yard, not in the library. Closed mindsets and ignorant opinions were to be left out on the yard. They were unwelcome in the library. As far as I was concerned, the library was on the yard, but not of the yard. It was a place of light and learning. It was sacred ground." (pp. 272-273, Chapter 9)

My library may not be a sacred ground. I hope though that it is a welcoming place, a place where we can bring light to others (and maybe a little bit of fun and learning too!).

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! Written with humor, insight and many gems of Christian teaching on forgiveness and second chances. As a volunteer prison minister, everything she wrote resonated with my experiences of prison life, those who are incarcerated and the challenges they face when they return to society. This book made me laugh, and cry and ponder. I read it straight through. I would like to go back again and start from scratch!
I think I will order multiple copies of this book and share with those who ask me "Why do you do prison ministry. Aren't you frightened?" This would be a perfect way to open eyes to the need for restoration and rehabilitation.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some good nuggets in this book. And I liked the way she used the Dewey decimal system to divide her experiences into chapters. My favorite chapter was about the writing group she started in the prison library. (Chapter 800 😉 ) The transformative power of writing! Expressed by one inmate to her in a note as he was being transferred, "Please remember who I've become and not who I was." Her faith and her realism get her through sometimes funny and sometimes very sad experiences. I would say to the author if I had the chance, "Thank you for writing this book, and I'm glad to have read it."

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I take issue with this book as presented by title and cover .. If it had not been gifted to me by a person I respect with 25 years of service in the field, I would never have known it is written by a volunteer who became a long term librarian at a prison. Excellent overall .. Set up in sections like the Dewey Decimal System, with sub sections, it is a valuable inside view of Corrections in the US, as experienced in CA. So much in the news these days re prisons, felons, their lives and rights .. I recommend this to any and everyone who has ever cared. Also often just plain heartful.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book creatively captures Valerie Schultz’s experience working as a librarian in a California state prison and how it affected her as an individual. It was a thought-provoking read, echoing the message of hope and reform that I have found in Father Greg Boyle and Bryan Stevenson’s works. I pray that efforts to create a prison system based upon reform instead of punishment are successful, and it is inspirational to read about how libraries and librarians can be a part of this work.

[Dorothy Singer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This began slowly for me; I am not sure that the obstacle was in my head, but for whatever reason I warmed up to this book and the author midway. I thoroughly enjoyed Schultz’s humor, thoughtful reflections, and stories about life for those who are incarcerated and often forgotten. She reminds us often that we are all God’s children and shows us this through her vivid portraits of prisoners.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for Christmas from a fellow University of Dallas graduate who thought I might enjoy reading a book by another UD grad. I did! It was a very interesting account exploring the purpose of imprisoning a person and pondering the question whether it is for punishment or rehabilitation. This question emerges amid many other depictions of what life behind bars is really like while sharing the experiences from the perspective of a prison librarian who got to go home at the end of each day. The author's ability to ultimately see prisoners as human beings and acknowledge their grace along with their failings was very revealing of her own religious beliefs.
Humorous at times, sad at others, this book is enlightening and surprising for someone like me who has never stepped foot in a prison. I've been left with the feeling it might not be as scary as I imagined. Valerie Schultz acknowledges that one should be wary but not necessarily unforgiving.

I would like to know the story behind what caused her to switch from a religious volunteer to a full=time prison employee. She said it was a story for "another time." Does that mean another book? I plan to recommend this book to the ministry at my church that is devoted to visiting with prisoners as well as promoting it to anyone else who would be curious as to what really goes on behind the prison walls.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A view from the librarian of a prison. Linking in a simple fashion ministry of her time there. Not an overpowering push of faith, but finding the positives in the lives of the inmates lives from the inside.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved how she focused on the good she saw in others. She touches on a lot of issues but lightly- I wanted either more details or a more indepth afterward. Also, not a lot of the Catholic faith presented: the two times it comes up are when she accidentally vokunteera for ministry, and a repeating theme of "everyone has dignity." Which is a great place to start, I just wanted more.

I enjoyed reading the book, especially how she described prisoners. And I appreciated that she had a good sense of self throughout- never pretending to know it all in regards to the system or the prisoners themselves. There were also lots of great library stories woven throughout!

[Justin Lopes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different perspective

I loved the way the author organized her thoughts and the way she presented her stories. She brings attention to something I believe many of us dont even think about. I rarely think what life in prison may be like, nor had I thought to care. I have a new belief of rehabilitation and a different view of my acquaintances with family incarcerated.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into Prison Ministry, and quite cleverly put into the Dewey Decimal system.

[Tammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't able to finish this book before it was due at the library.

[Joseph Panozzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

l loved this book.