Nevertheless, the title is categorized as a self-help and psychological guidebook, selling more than 1.2 million copies nationwide. It's been described as the 'bible for atheists,' 'chicken soup for the soulless' and, by The New Yorker, a manual on 'how to be a creep.' These are a few of the guidelines that make up Greene's first book, 'The 48 Laws of Power,' published in 1998. Prison officials feared the books, Jensen said, could show inmates 'how to control people, how to get people to do exactly what you want them to do.' The ban was categorized as a security measure, accompanied by a brief explanation. 'All of the people who were here, are no longer,' she said. Prison spokeswoman Maria Peterson said those details were lost in the shuffle when a new executive director started shortly after the ban was instituted other leaders also retired and were replaced about the same time. (Lists obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune also do not show an enforcement date or acting employee's name.)

The decision, she said, was passed down by some official of 'the institution,' not the library. She can't remember exactly when the two books were banned by the prison - probably four or five years ago - and it's unclear to her who made the call. There aren't any inmates browsing through the books, so she stares out at the small, unadorned room filled with 5-foot-tall shelves.

Christie Jensen, the prison's librarian for more than a decade, sits at the checkout desk.

The 48 laws of seduction