Books to Prisoners
From Infoshop OpenWiki
Books to Prisoners is an umbrella term for several projects and organizations that mail free reading material to prison inmates. The first Books to Prisoners project was founded in Seattle, Washington, USA in 1973; there are approximately twenty similar projects in the United States and Canada. There is no centralized organization; in keeping with the anarchist cultural roots of the project, each one runs autonomously.
The projects accept donations of books from bookstores and individuals. The project solicits letters from prisoners requesting books, usually by genre or by naming a preferred author. Project volunteers read the letters and reply with a few books taken from the project's collection. There is no cost to prisoners.
Generally, all mailing and administration is done by volunteer labor. Many of the projects are affiliated with a local independent bookstore in their home city, which provides a drop-off place for donors, and sometimes a small supply of books as well. Postage for mailing the books is a major expense that must be met through donations.
Often-requested materials include dictionaries, how-to and educational books, and historical works, especially those focusing African-American, Latino, and Native American history.
[edit] Books to Prisoners Listing
APPALACHIAN PRISON BOOK PROJECT (APBP) P.O. Box 601 Morgantown, WV 26501 appalachianpbp@gmail.com Free books to prisoners in West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.
BOOK 'EM P.O. Box 71357 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 bookem@keromail.com [www.thomasmertoncenter.org/bookem.htm] [www.prisoners.com/bookemi.html] Sends free books to prisoners in all states except Oregon and men in Texas. (ie, Will send to women in Texas).
BOOKS THROUGH BARS 4722 Baltimore Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19143 215-727-8170 [www.booksthroughbars.org] Sends progressive political and educational materials at no charge to state and federal prisoners in all states except MI. and OR. Donates books directly to county jail libraries but does not accept individual requests from county jail prisoners. Request books by topic. No catalog. Donations including artwork and stamps greatly appreciated.
BOOKS THROUGH BARS - NYC C/o Bluestockings Bookstore 172 Allen St New York, NY 10002 (212) 254-3697, ext. 322 [www.abcnorio.org/affiliated/btb.html] Ships to prisoners nationwide. Specializes in political and history books. Also sends literary fiction and other educational books. Does not send religious literature. Donations of stamps and cash are appreciated. If you send a money order, please make it out to the groups fiscal sponsor, ABC No Rio.
BOOKS THRU BARS OF ITHACA Second Floor Autumn Leaves Bookstore 115 The Commons Ithaca, NY 14850 [www.btbithaca.org] An all-volunteer operated, community-based "grassroots" organization that receives and process dozens of requests from incarcerated inmates predominantly from the most populated states in the Union: New York, Texas, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, and many other states throughout the country requesting educational books and reading materials from it library of donated books, "free of charge".
BOOKS TO PRISONERS C/o Left Bank Books 92 Pike St., Box A Seattle, WA 98101 [www.bookstoprisoners.net] Free books to prisoners to all states except CA. Request by subject, no religious materials or legal materials. donations appreciated. Special Note - Does not ship to prisons who require all books sent to be new.
CLEVELAND BOOKS 2 PRISONERS P.O. Box 602440 Cleveland, OH 44102 clevelandbooks2prisoners@hotmail.com Free books to prisoners in Ohio only.
CHICAGO BOOKS TO WOMEN IN PRISON C/o Beyond Media Education 7013 N. Glenwood Ave Chicago, IL 60626 [1] Free books to women prisoners in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi and Ohio.
DC PRISONS BOOK PROJECT P.O. Box 5243 Hyattsville, MD 20782 [2] bookstoprisons@mutualaid.org Free books to prisoners nationwide.
GAINESVILLE BOOKS FOR PRISONERS P.O. Box 12164 Gainesville, FL 32604 [3] Covers prisoners nationwide. Accepts Requests by topic of interest only.
INSIDE BOOKS PROJECT C/o 12th St. Books 827 West 12th Street Austin, TX 78701 [www.insidebooksproject.com] Sends free books and literature to prisoners in Texas only. Send 1 37 cent stamp for resource list and newsletter. Accepts artwork donations for their yearly prisoner art show.
INTERNATIONALIST PRISON BOOKS COLLECTIVE 405 w. franklin st. chapel hill, NC 27516 [www.prisonbooks.info] New program that sends books to Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.
LOUISIANA BOOKS 2 PRISONERS 831 Elysian Fields #143 New Orleans, LA 70117 books2prisoners@riseup.net Ships free books to prisoners all over the US but focuses primarily on serving prisoners in Louisiana.
MIDWEST BOOKS TO PRISONERS C/o Quimby's Bookstore 1321 North Milwaukee Ave. PMB #460 Chicago, IL 60622 [www.freewebs.com/mwbtp] Free books to midwest prisoners.
MIDWEST PAGES TO PRISONERS PROJECT C/o Boxcar Books 310A S. Washington St. Bloomington, IN 47401 812-339-8710 [4] Sends free books to prisoners in all states except CA, TX, MI, and MA.
BOOKS TO OREGON PRISONERS POB 11222 Portland, OR 97211 [5] Free books to Oregon prisoners only.
PRISON BOOK PROGRAM C/o United First Parish Church 1306 Hancock St. Suite 100 Quincy, MA 02169 617-423-3298 (NO collect calls) [6] Covers prisoners in all states but CA, MA, MD, MI, PA, or TX. Does not offer computer books, horror, romance, textbooks, true crime, or white supremacist materials. Publishes the National Prisoner Resource List free to prisoners nationwide on request.
PRISON BOOK PROJECT C/o Food for Thought Books P.O. Box 396 Amherst, MA 01004-0396 (413) 584-8975 ext. 208 [www.prisonbooks.org] Serves prisoners in New England states (Maine, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI) and Texas only. Request books by topics of interest, not title. No mailing list or catalogue. No hardback books.
PRISON LITERATURE PROJECT C/o Bound Together Bookstore 1369 Haight St. San Francisco, CA 94117 No Texas requests. Request types of books-not specific titles, Stamps or donations greatly appreciated.
THE PRISON LIBRARY PROJECT 915 West Foothill Blvd. Suite C128 Claremont, CA 91711 Free books on self-help, personal and spiritual growth, wellness, and metaphysical books. No law books, technical, or GED. No catalogue. Free resource guide on request.
THE READERS CORNER Prison Book Program 31 Montford Ave. Asheville, NC 28801 prisonbooks31@hotmail.com [7] Sends free books to prisoners in North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee only.
URBANA - CHAMPAIGN BOOKS TO PRISONERS PROJECT C/o Spineless Books PO Box 515 Urbana, IL 61803 [www.books2prisoners.org] ucbtp@yahoo.com ucbtp@yahoogroups.com (listserve) Sends all types of books to state and federal prisoners in Illinois. Has a large selection of novels, but tries to stock popular genres such as African American history and lit, as well as dictionaries, though they're hard to maintain.
WISCONSIN BOOKS TO PRISONERS 1019 Williamson St #B Madison WI 53703 [www.madisoninfoshop.org/wbtp]
WOMENS PRISON BOOK PROJECT C/o Arise Bookstore 2441 Lyndale Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55405 [www.prisonactivist.org/wpbp] Ships to all states except OR, MI, CO, and WV. Free books to women prisoners only. No county jail requests. Does not ship hardback books. Free resource guide for women and transgender prisoners. Encourages women and transgender prisoners to write articles for their newsletter. Write for more details.
This page is part of the Prison Abolition Guide.
