Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners is an initiative that supplies free books to people incarcerated in Illinois. The organization is almost entirely volunteer-based, intending to provide literature and relief to incarcerated individuals.
“We collect books from the community, gently used books, and we sort and shelve them,” said Rachel Rasmussen, volunteer coordinator for UC Books to Prisoners. “We form a collection of books that is based on what we have learned is most requested by prisoners and also what the Illinois Department of Corrections will allow.”
Not only does the initiative collect and sort books, but it also processes all of the letters from incarcerated people.
“We have prisoners from all over the state write letters to us requesting different kinds of reading materials,” said Keira Sullivan, junior in Business and president of Illini Books to Prisoners. “It can be a wide range of subjects … I’ve given out a ton of bar exam study books and GED study books, but it can also just be fun books.”
Illini Books to Prisoners and UC Books to Prisoners work together in their mission. Beyond giving incarcerated people access to literature, they also aim to inform people about the prison system.
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“I think that these people are just trying to better themselves and also trying to find some light in these darker times of their lives,” Sullivan said. “I think that reading is one of the best ways to do that.”
Twice a year, the organization holds a book sale to raise money for their cause and to give away some of the extra books they have accumulated.
“Due to the generosity of the community, we get far more books than we could ever use in our program,” Rasmussen said. “Many of the books are not going to be allowed in by the Illinois Department of Corrections, and many of the books we just already have plenty of. So twice a year, we hold a huge book sale to offload all these books, and then also to raise money for shipping.”
Rasmussen guesses that almost 9,000 books are put out twice a year at these sales, which raises the necessary money to support Books to Prisoners and their initiative.
Most of the books at the book sale range from 50 cents to $2, covering a wide range of genres.
Books to Prisoners recognizes how literature contributes to personal growth among incarcerated individuals, and Rasmussen has witnessed this impact firsthand.
“When a person is about to be released, they will send us a letter,” Rasmussen said. “They’re not asking for books, but they bothered to send us a thank you letter that says, ‘Ever since I started, you’ve been sending me books, and it has made such a difference in my capacity to survive this experience.’”
Besides attending the book sale, there are multiple ways the community can support Books to Prisoners, such as volunteering and donating.
Rasmussen explained that due to their specific requirements, it’s often more helpful for people to donate money, allowing them to find deals and purchase exactly what they need.
Other popular requests include the dictionary and books for understanding business, money, literacy, investing and compound interest.
Rasmussen said it’s impossible to estimate the difference the initiative makes, but the impact extends far beyond the time people spend in prison.
“Over 95% of incarcerated people will come home,” Rasmussen said. “The question is, who do you want to come home? Do you want people to come home and join our communities again? People who have had the chance to spend their time well in prison by reading and learning and getting degrees and becoming more literate so that they can get jobs. That’s what we are about.”
Sullivan said the cycle of incarceration often stems from not having access to educational resources. Books to Prisoners aims to help fight the system by introducing these resources to incarcerated environments.
“It’s important to remember that these are human beings,” Sullivan said. “Literature helps personalize these people and make sure that they are not just being labeled as another number within these systems.”
The biannual sale will be held in the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center on Oct. 12 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
