To determine if a link exists between academic progress and the correctional process in the reformatory classroom, this study considers the effect of bibliotherapy on the academic achievement and the personality of inmates of the Oklahoma State Reformatory enrolled in a biology course for a total of four, 10-week semesters. Becauses classes were organized according to inmates' work schedules, groups had to be established by statistical comparison. Chi-square and t-tests were applied to the results of the California Test of Mental Maturity, the Nelson Biology Test (NBT) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). It was found that the eight initial groups were equal, and they were therefore combined into two groups, experimental and control. Both groups received Lecture-Demonstration-Laboratory instruction three hours a day. The experimental groups spent one hour a day discussing mental hygiene and personal problems. Bibliotherapy stresses the textbook, with general reading of predominantly psychiatric-sociological articles and books. Discussion and modified role playing as well as other resources were also integrated into class work. Alternate forms of the source tests administered earlier were given at the conclusion of the program. It was found that the difference in mean gains, for biological knowledge, was in favor of the experimental group. (NG)