We couldn’t exist without your donations of books! However, there are certain kinds of books we always need, and others that usually aren’t particularly useful to us.

Check out our Books Wanted Flyer (PDF) or see a list of books we need below.

Our books come from a few different types of sources, and we have slightly different information for each.

Individuals
Schools/Students
Bookstores
Publishers and Authors

Individuals

If you live in or near Philadelphia, you can deliver your book donation to our office.
4722 Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia. Mapquest Directions
Tuesday nights, 7:30 – 9:30PM
1st & 3rd Saturdays, 11 AM – 2PM

If you live elsewhere, you can ship books to us. However, before you spend your money to do that, email us to make sure we’re able to use the books.

Schools/Students

If you’re a teacher or administrator and you want to offer textbooks that you’re no longer using, please let us know. Email donations@booksthroughbars.org.

Bookstores

If you sell new books and you have advance copies that you’d like to donate, we’d be happy to accept them.
Tuesday nights, 7:30 – 9:30 PM
1st & 3rd Saturdays, 11 AM – 2 PM

4722 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia - Mapquest Directions

If you’re a used bookstore, there are several ways we can help each other.

• Help us get the books we need – We know that people sometimes want to trade books that you can’t sell. In some cases, these books are of great value to us. For instance, we know that you may see many more copies of Autobiography of Malcolm X than you can possibly buy and re-sell. We can use any African and African-American history or fiction! When your customers want to trade these books, you can redirect them to us.
• Give them our flyer! Books Wanted Flyer (PDF);
• Set up a collection box;
• Peruse our shelves to see if we have something you need. We sometimes get wonderful books on topics that prisoners rarely request. Make an appointment to look through our collection for books that would be useful in your store.

Publishers and Authors

We’re happy to receive shipments of donated books from publishers or authors. However, before accepting multiple copies of a single title, we like to review it. If you’re a publisher or author and you’d like to offer multiple copies of one of your titles, please send a review copy to:

Books Through Bars
4722 Baltimore Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19143

Books We Always Need

for all books, paperbacks are preferred!

• Dictionaries
• GED and ESL study guides
• High school textbooks (all subjects)
• College textbooks (intro level)
• African and African American history and fiction
• Mexican and Puerto Rican history and fiction
• Books in Spanish
• Drug and alcohol addiction recovery
• Spirituality, yoga and meditation
• WE DO NOT NEED: fiction in hardback, out-of-date texts or reference books, any books that are very old or in poor condition.