Partnering Organizations
These are some of the many organizations that help support our projects.

UC IMC
Urbana / Champaign Illinois independent Media Center is our parent organization. Our book collection and sorting / packing facility is located in the IMC building at 202 S. Broadway in Urbana Illinois. As an arm of UC IMC, Books to Prisoners benefits from its 501.C.3 Not For Profit status.
AmeriCorps
UC Independent Media Center and UC Books to Prisoners provide volunteer opportunities for AmeriCorps volunteers in leadership positions. In the Fall of 2009 the IMC was awarded a Serve Illinois / AmeriCorps grant including eight AmeriCorps positions. More information
University of Illinois Graduate School of Library & Information Science
Library Science students often find that volunteering with UC Books to Prisoners is a natural fit with their educational objectives as well as a rewarding experience. UC Books to Prisoners has worked with students and their advisors to design practicums and regularly invite GSLIS students to volunteer in groups.
Champaign County Sheriff's Office
UC Books to Prisoners provides books and library services to the inmates in our county jail. These services include our volunteers staffing the jail library weekly as well as channeling books which are donated by our community into the jail to stock the library shelves.
RSVP - Retired & Senior Volunteer Program
Champaign Urbana's RSVP Chapter includes several of UC Books to Prisoners' most active volunteers.
With thier members v olunteering several times per week all year-round RSVP Books to Prisoners members contribute some of the highest numbers of volunteer hours of an organization in our community.

Helen Mary Stevick Senior Citizens Center, 48 Main St Champaign IL (217) 359-6500.
Urbana Free Library
Urbana's Friendly, old-fashioned, high-tech public library.
Provides administrative support and resources to support the county jail library as well as other books to prisoners projects.
Priceless Books
Located in downtown Urbana, Priceless Books assists UCBTP with fulfilling inmates requests.

108A West Main Street Urbana, IL U.S.A. 61801
Phone: 217-344-4037 email: priceles@advancenet.net



Other Books to Prisoners Groups
There are several organizations throughut the United States which serve a similar purpose as UC Books to Prisoners, some of which have been operating for more than twenty years. Below is a list of similar organizations and their scope.

BOOKS 2 PRISONERS
c/o Iron Rail Bookstore and Publishing
1631 Elysian Fields #117
New Orleans LA 70117
books2prisoners@riseup.net
Free books to Louisiana prisoners only. 

BOOKS THROUGH BARS
4722 Baltimore Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19143
215-727-8170
www.booksthroughbars.org
Sends progressive political and educational materials at no charge to state and federal prisoners in the mid-Atlantic region (PA, NJ, NY, DE, MD, VA, WV). Donates books directly to county jail libraries but does not accept individual requests from county jail prisoners. Request books by topic. No catalog. Donations including artwork and stamps greatly appreciated.

BOOKS THROUGH BARS - NYC
c/o Bluestockings
172 Allen St
New York, NY 10002
www.abcnorio.org/affiliated/btb.html
Ships to prisoners nationwide. Specializes in political and history books. Also sends literary fiction and other educational books. Does not send religious literature. Donations of stamps and cash are appreciated. If you send a money order, please make it out to the groups fiscal sponsor, ABC No Rio.

BOOKS THRU BARS OF ITHACA
C/o Autumn Leaves Used Books
115 The Commons
Ithaca, NY 14850
www.booksthrubars.org
Free books to inmates in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

BOOKS TO PRISONERS
C/o Left Bank Books
92 Pike St., Box A
Seattle, WA 98101
www.bookstoprisoners.net
The longest running project of its kind. Free books to prisoners Nationwide. Request by subject, no religious materials or legal materials. donations appreciated. Special Note - Does not ship to prisons who require all books sent to be new.

CHICAGO BOOKS TO WOMEN IN PRISON
C/o Beyond Media Education
7013 N. Glenwood Ave
Chicago, IL 60626
www.chicagobwp.org
free books to women prisoners in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi and Ohio.

DC PRISONS BOOK PROJECT
P.O. Box 5243
Hyattsville, MD 20782
www.quixote.org/ej/bookstoprisons/
Free books to prisoners nationwide.

GAINESVILLE BOOKS FOR PRISONERS
P.O. Box 12164
Gainesville, FL 32604
www.civicmediacenter.org/links/2003/11/01/13.29.05.htm
Covers prisoners nationwide. Accepts Requests by topic of interest only.

INSIDE BOOKS PROJECT
C/o 12th St. Books
827 West 12th Street
Austin, TX 78701
www.insidebooksproject.com
Sends free books and literature to prisoners in Texas only. Does not accept requests for hardcover, bibles, pulp fiction, or pornography. Send 1 37 cent stamp for resource list and newsletter. Accepts artwork donations for their yearly prisoner art show.

PRISON BOOK PROJECT
C/o Food for Thought Books
P.O. Box 396
Amherst, MA 01004-0396
http://www.prisonbooks.org
Sends ONLY to prisoners in Texas, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

MIDWEST BOOKS TO PRISONERS
 Quimby's Bookstore
1321 North Milwaukee Ave. PMB #460
Chicago, IL  60622
http://www.freewebs.com/mwbtp/
mwbtp@riseup.net
Free books to midwest prisoners

MIDWEST PAGES TO PRISONERS PROJECT
C/o Boxcar Books
406 E. 6th St.
Bloomington, IN 47408
812-339-8710
www.boxcarbooks.org
midwestpagestoprisoners@yahoo.com
No Texas or Michigan prisoner requests.

PORTLAND BOOKS TO PRISONERS
6315 NE Rodney
Portland, OR 97211
portland.indymedia.org/en/2003/06/265772.shtml
bookstooregonprisoners@gmail.com
Sends books to state and federal prisoners in all states except Oregon. Request by topic not author. No legal or religious requests.

PRISON BOOK PROGRAM
1306 Hancock St. Suite 100
Quincy, MA 02169
617-423-3298 (NO collect calls)
www.prisonbookprogram.org/
Covers all states but CA, MA, MD, MI, PA, or TX (except Gatesville and Huntsville). Does not offer computer books, horror, romance, textbooks, true crime, or white supremacist materials. Publishes the National Prisoner Resource List free to prisoners nationwide on request.

PRISON BOOK PROJECT
C/o Food for Thought Books
P.O. Box 396
Amherst, MA 01004-0396
(413) 584-8975 ext. 208
www.prisonbooks.org
Serves prisoners in New England states (Maine, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI) and Texas only. Request books by topics of interest, not title. No mailing list or catalogue. No hardback books.

PRISON LITERATURE PROJECT
C/o Bound Together Bookstore
1369 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
plp.versuspress.com/plphome.htm
No Texas requests. Request types of books-not specific titles, Stamps or donations greatly appreciated.

THE PRISON LIBRARY PROJECT
915 West Foothill Blvd. Suite C128
Claremont, CA 91711
Free books on self-help, personal and spiritual growth, wellness, and metaphysical books. No law books, technical, or GED. No catalogue. Free resource guide on request.

WOMENS PRISON BOOK PROJECT
C/o Arise Bookstore
2441 Lyndale Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55405
www.prisonactivist.org/wpbp
wpbp@prisonactivist.org
Ships to all states except OR, MI, CO, and WV. Free books to women prisoners only. No county jail requests. Does not ship hardback books. Free resource guide for women and transgender prisoners. Encourages women and transgender prisoners to write articles for their newsletter. Write for more details.

Sending Materials into Jails and Prisons
Most state prisons have a centralized book distribution system where it is the role of the supervising librarian to receive book donations, decide if they meet prison standards, and then mail them out to prison libraries.

This is ideal if the supervising librarian is enthusiastic about distributing the books, because her/his opinion about the book's value overrides that of regular prison librarians. However, if the supervising librarian does not wish to distribute the book, one has the option of contacting each prison individually. This is also an option for states that don't appear to have supervising librarians.