Located in Philadelphia, PA, Books Through Bars has been sending free books and educational resources to people in prison for 30 years.

Our work responds to the exponential growth in the U.S. prison population, which has coincided with a decrease in funding for libraries, vocational training, and education programs within prisons. Many prison libraries are inadequate and inaccessible, while access to resources from the outside is limited by prison restrictions and inmates’ poverty. Many of the people writing to us have no other way to access books.

Every year, Books Through Bars receives thousands of requests for books from incarcerated people. We mobilize hundreds of volunteers to run every aspect of our work, from data entry to soliciting book donations to library organization.

Our work wouldn’t be possible without support from our community, near and far.

Here’s how you can support what we do: