Library visit today. 10 of us from university libraries all over this neck of the woods.

Possibly the most powerful/moving one I'm ever likely to attend.

It was a visit to a small, city center jail - about 200 inmates - and included seeing a couple of different (emtpy) cells, the workshops, gym, chapel and so on. Then the library itself and getting to meet any of the prisoners who cared to be spending half an hour of their time coming to borrow a book or DVD.

What with the stringent entry security and some hassles there, plus the knowledge that all the inmate were in for serious crimes and some had been there 30 or 40 years, it affected all of us more than we expected. Although it was just like you see on tv or in movies, there was something very different about standing on a landing full of locked doors contemplating the reality of this being pretty much the totality of existence for any length of time.

I think everyone should experience this at least once - although I'm very aware that we were very fortunate to see much more of the place than any ordinary visitors would be allowed. Likely to be a highlight of the year.