Inmates who are learning skills in the wood shop at Two Bridges Regional Jail are helping out at the Wiscasset Public Library, building shelves for the used book store.

“It’s a historic building,” said Deputy Will Owen, “so we are trying to make sure we are doing things the way they would have done them when the building was new.”

The inmates were busily sanding and priming the wood shelves, and installing them in the shop on the ground floor of the library, facing the courthouse. “We will clean up and paint them in place, just like it would have been done back in the day,” Owen said.

The Wood Shop is a self-supporting industry at Two Bridges Regional Jail. Inmates learn to make Adirondack chairs, wooden toys, cradles, household goods, and other items, and the funds earned go to purchase new supplies and allow inmates to participate in community service projects like this one.