The best ways to get involved are to donate books, volunteer with us, and/or support our work. If you have something else in mind, feel free to contact us.

Nope! The books we provide are free and we send them to anyone who asks, providing they are in the region we serve and the prison accepts books. To request books for someone inside, write us a letter.

If your area is not served by an existing books to prison program, feel free to get in touch with us for advice on starting a program.

Our only physical location is in Philadelphia, but we serve Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Go to https://prisonbookprogram.org/prisonbooknetwork/ for a full list of books to prison programs in the U.S.

We are sometimes able to fulfill requests for boxes of books from prison libraries, education programs, and halfway houses in the Mid-Atlantic region. We will only send books to libraries or programs at facilities that also accept packages from us sent to individuals incarcerated there.

To request boxes of books, please email us at info@booksthroughbars.org with the following information:

• Your position (e.g., librarian, chaplain, educator)

• Number of incarcerated people you serve

• Primary needs (e.g., books in a particular content area for a program, books to start a library, books to supplement current offerings, subject matter, any restrictions, etc.)

• If the prison is not located in the greater Philadelphia area, ability to assist for postage costs (a box of books generally costs us between $15-20 to send. Any assistance you can provide toward that cost is greatly appreciated).

• If the prison is located in the greater Philadelphia area, can you arrange for the books to be picked up at our office or do you need them to be delivered? Who should we contact to arrange for delivery if needed?