This Organization Collects Books for Prisoners

Illustrations by CJ Herr

Rachel Beardsley

When one thinks of care packages for incarcerated individuals, they normally consider the basics: hygiene items or maybe a few snacks. Many people would not consider sending reading material. Books, however, can be a lifeline in prison.

One Athens organization seeks to provide that assistance. Athens Books to Prisoners collects books to send to area prisons twice monthly. The two main organizers collect book donations, receive letters from prisoners, raise money for postage and keep supplies in stock. A group of about six core volunteers from the community help package the books and around 50 students sign up each school year to fulfill volunteer hours for various organization or scholarship requirements.

Caty Crabb, one of the two main organizers, says the organization seeks to provide books to prisoners because access to reading materials is severely lacking.

“Many prisons do not have prison libraries at all, and those that do often restrict access or go months at a time without a librarian to keep the library open,” Crabb says. “We hear from prisoners that those few who do gain access to a library often find limited, outdated and damaged books that sometimes have whole chapters torn out.”

Fiction novels, how-to and self-help books, spiritual and occult books, language learning books and Magic: The Gathering cards are what the organization receives requests for most often, Crabb says, although they receive a wide variety of requests. They also frequently are asked to send law books for prisoners who want to better understand their rights or the details of their particular case, but the prisons usually prevent them from fulfilling those requests.

“We work with other books-to-prisoner programs to understand the regulations at each prison,” Crabb says. “Often, it’s just trial and error. We just send stuff and see what gets in and what gets sent back, then communicate the findings to other programs.”

Each prison in Ohio has different package regulations, making work that much harder. Some allow prisoners to receive hardback books, and others do not. Some will allow prisoners to receive five books in one package, while others limit it to three. Some do not accept used books, and since Athens Books to Prisoners runs mainly on donations, it is difficult for the organization to provide material to those prisoners. Some prisons do not accept packages at all, no matter what they contain.

Additionally, many prisons do not publicize their regulations. The Southeast Ohio Regional Jail in Nelsonville, for example, does not publicly list package regulations. A person wishing to send books or other materials to an inmate in the jail, which serves Athens, Hocking, Morgan, Perry and Vinton counties, must check with the prison staff directly to see what is acceptable.

The Washington County Jail in Marietta, however, does list some basic restrictions on its website. Family members or other individuals may drop off money, prescription medication, glasses, hearing aids or other necessary devices to be delivered to the proper inmate. All other acceptable items are either provided or available for purchase within the prison through commissary privileges. Clothing as well as narcotics and sleep aids are often declined. Other types of mail often declined include envelopes containing more than 10 pictures, printouts from websites including song lyrics or puzzles, any unknown substance such as glitter or stickers and any correspondence between inmates. There is no mention of reading material in the guidelines.

Though Athens Books to Prisoners is one of multiple organizations that provide reading material to incarcerated individuals, each organization works for different reasons. For example, Chicago’s Midwest Books to Prisoners seeks to help inmates continue their education and improve their literacy. Sarah Fick, the other main organizer of Athens Books to Prisoners, says the goal of the organization is ultimately righting the wrongs they see within the prison system while providing prisoners with a form of personal property in a time when they control very few aspects of their lives.

“We acknowledge that the criminal justice system disproportionately affects communities of color and other marginalized groups,” Fick says. “We seek to be a direct-action response to that problem by providing free reading materials that become the personal property of the individual receiving them, and not property of the prison library system. Access to knowledge and information can not only help pass the time, but also change lives.”