More than 2 million people in the United States are incarcerated. Most of those 2 million have extremely limited access to something most of us can’t imagine living without: books.
Books-to-prisoners programs across the country are doing their best to address this need by taking book requests from prisoners by mail, then having volunteers match those requests to books that have been donated by the public or purchased with monetary donations. Volunteers also prep books for shipment, assess and sort donations, keep track of the types of books each prison will allow inside, and assist with organizational tasks such as fundraising.
Considering that this position combines reader’s advisory and systems organization skills with a passion for intellectual freedom, perhaps it’s no surprise that many librarians are stepping up to volunteer their time this way.
“[Librarians] come in with all the assets you need, so it’s appreciated on our side,” says Michelle Dillon, program coordinator at Books to Prisoners in Seattle. “It’s like the ultimate reference job. It’s a treasure hunt, almost, to track down what the person [the prisoner] is looking for, and if you can’t, to find a suitable alternative.”
Filling book requests
The topics inmates like to read about aren’t very different from those of the general population. “People have all sorts of random interests, just like everyone who’s not incarcerated does,” says Erin Wentz, an electronic resources librarian at Boston’s MCPHS University (formerly the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences) and a volunteer at Prison Book Program in Quincy, Massachusetts. Though dictionaries, legal information, and GED materials top the list, other requests range from the popular (James Patterson and Stephen King novels) to the obscure (such as a book on insects). Some prisoners request specific books, while others simply ask for particular genres like mystery or fantasy.
“It’s so simple to get involved, but it’s so satisfying on so many levels,” says Chloe Horning, an adjunct faculty librarian at Shoreline Community College and Bellevue Community College and a volunteer at Books to Prisoners Seattle.
The request letters from prisoners appeal to her librarian instincts. “There’s something really satisfying about being able to do reader’s advisory. Someone’s telling you, ‘This is what I like,’ and then you do your best to find that book and send it to them,” Horning says. “That’s what appealed to me so much.”
Intellectual freedom issues
For the justice-minded librarian, sending books into prisons allows you to witness intellectual freedom and censorship issues up close. Most prisons institute some form of book banning, but no two prisons are alike in what they reject. “It’s really frustrating, because there’s no continuity, and nobody has the same restrictions,” says Dillon. Horning adds that prisons are “the frontier where the fight for intellectual freedom is happening right now.”
Volunteers with books-to-prisoners organizations can be part of the solution to these issues, particularly since education can prevent recidivism. “Books can provide education services and a sense of connection to community,” says Dillon.
Fittingly, that sense of community is part why Wentz chooses to volunteer her time this way. “One of the most rewarding parts is knowing that as a group—with so many other people there, all strangers—we come together and make a difference in someone else’s life,” she says. She enjoys the communal commitment to do good, as well as the thank-you letters that come back from prisoners.
Whether it’s finding just the right book, creating a perfect book donation system, or knowing that you’re improving intellectual freedom for prisoners, helping get books into prisons can be a rewarding experience, especially for librarians, and especially when the opportunity to read a grateful note from a prisoner arises. Celia Emmelhainz, an anthropology and qualitative research librarian at University of California Berkeley and a volunteer at Prisoners Literature Project in Berkeley once received a letter that said, “This is the only way to get my mind out of prison.”
Update: Prisoners Literature Project added to sidebar Nov. 2.
![Meredith Evans holds a copy of the 1977 letter she mailed to President Carter when she was 4 years old. She wrote, “I would like to come to your house for my [birthday] party.” Photo: Pete Winkel](https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/1116bookend-300x263.jpg)
I was a prison librarian for two years (I’m now a reference librarian for a state library) and depended on donations to keep our library full and diverse. Please donate books to prison libraries! New books gets the inmates excited and keeps them reading, which keeps them out of trouble. Prison libraries have small budgets, and without the donations that we received from such programs as the ones in Seattle and Massachusetts, our library would have been stagnant, boring, and an uninteresting place. Many of the inmates that I encountered were voracious readers, and were in constant search of something new. Also, if you are a bookstore that is looking for a great way to make an impact in the community, before you throw out or recycle books that haven’t sold, consider donating them to your local prison system. They would be happy to take them; they’re always in desperate need. Prison libraries are always in need, not only due to budget constraints, but also due to wear and tear and theft of library material from the library. I remember inmates piling books into plastic trash bags and using them as weights to exercise. The pages can also be used for a wide variety of things. Books make good doorstops, too, I’ve heard (my heart still breaks). Yes, there is censorship within a prison library, but prison librarians have to remember that a prison library is not a normal library, and the ALA makes a special provision in the ALA Code of Ethics for circumstances outside of the usual. Typical censored items are books on weapon making, escaping, surviving in the wilderness, erotica, drugs, and gang related material. If you are a prison librarian, be the best prison librarian you can be, find opportunities within your community for engagement, and be professional, adhering the best way that your situation allows to the ALA Code of Ethics and the Library Bill of Rights.
I appreciate the work that these groups do! I volunteer with one in Canada as well. One thing I will say, however, is that volunteer programs are no match for a reasonably-funded institutional library, and/or a partnership with the regional or municipal public library. Edmonton Public Library provides a breadth of materials for one correctional institution that we could never match as a grassroots organization. I’d like to see more public libraries implement services for citizens who are incarcerated.
Thanks Allison! I was just reading this and thinking how great it is that EPL can be a support for our partnership and I definitely want to help other public libraries see how they can take part in these programs.
I was a prison librarian for 6 years and about 80% of our collection came from donations from local libraries, friends, co-workers, the public, community organizations, and a strong ILL program with the local public library. I second what Andrew says below: “Please donate books to prison libraries!”. I reached out to these organizations a few times to try and collaborate and there wasn’t much interest in working with the actual prison librarians. Let us be a valuable resource. Help us maintain our collections. Together we can cast a wide net of literacy services and resources. As Andrew also mentioned in regards to censorship — yes, we do partake in selective collection development, but remember we also are working with a vary specialized population. Again, collaborating with prison librarians can help volunteers navigate these often complex networks when it comes to bringing anything from the outside, inside. We also are very in tune to what our patrons are reading or what areas of need there are in the Library. I am not belittling the work of these organizations by any means. They are extremely invaluable and can be even stronger. I can’t stress enough the importance of a single book behind prison walls. “When you sell a man a book you don’t sell him just 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue – you sell him a whole new life.”- Christopher Morley