LOS ANGELES — It has all the trappings of a typical library — books lining the shelves, board games like Candyland and Scrabble pile up on desks, and children pouring over colorful pages.
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, 9-year-old Khloe Williams was looking at an old favorite, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."
"The next day, on Sunday, the caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that, he felt much better," she read out loud.
For Williams, the games are good, but the books are great.
"The games are fun, but they're not as fun as the books. The thing I like about books is reading something that's a new experience," she said.
But Williams wasn't in a regular library — she was visiting the new children's library inside the Men's Central Jail's visitor waiting area.
The library has been donated to MCJ by the nonprofit Gordon Philanthropies, an organization focused on expanding literacy in underprivileged areas and communities.
Just feet from the library are the booths where visitors and inmates communicate through glass.
That's the main way Williams has spoken to her dad almost all her life. He's incarcerated at Men's Central Jail and is currently seeking an appeal.
Williams hopes he is released soon.
"We were going to watch movies and we were going to have lots of fun, my dad said when he gets out of jail. He said on the weekends, I can come to his house. On the school days, I'll go back to my mom's house," Williams said.
However, it's not clear when or if that will happen.
Williams' mom Arielle Bingley, said she's brought her daughter to visit her dad in jail because she decided it was important he was part of her life.
"She looks forward to visiting. She tells me everything they talk about, the interaction, so I let her grow up with him. I didn't want her not to know who her father was," she said.
Bingley explained that the visitors center can be difficult for young children. Families can wait for hours before they're able to talk with an inmate.
According to the Department of Justice, close to 700,000 state and federal prisoners have at least one child.
"All the kids are scrambling around, there's nothing for them to do. Parents are trying to calm them down. There's not much we can bring in here as far as books or activities to keep them busy," Bingley said.
It's why she said she's grateful the Sheriff's Department and Gordon Philanthropies teamed up to build the library.
"I think it's amazing. It's important to get the kid's mind off of the space and what's going on with their fathers and it's a learning experience as well," Bingley said.
Men's Central Jail has been slated for closure by the LA County Board of Supervisors due to the aging facilities, lack of mental health resources and recidivism rates.
However, no final closure date has been set. So Sheriff Robert Luna says, moving forward with improvements like the children's library is important.
"That's always on the horizon [the closure of MCJ]. Those are things we as leadership, are working with the Board of Supervisors on. But why not do this today? Men's Central Jail is here today. Our inmates are here today. If I waited until a new facility was up and running — I don't know when this would get done."
It's likely that young adults and children like Khloe Williams will continue to visit Men's Central Jail to see family members for the foreseeable future.
For now, Williams, her mom and fellow parents say they're grateful there's a place for kids to play and learn — even in a challenging and often heartbreaking environment.
"I hope I get to hug him and I tell him to surprise me when he get's out," Williams said.