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<p><em>"Thanks for offering books to
incarcerated individuals free of charge. Our society needs more of
you, and your organizations, to promote culture and education
through books."</em><br>
<span class="signature">&mdash;Maurice,</span> California</p>

<p><strong>ANNOUNCEMENT: Want to learn what we accomplished last year? You can 
read a review of our 2025 activities in our
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vMdQwMmxx51SGSoGfGb7ecUJHUgvmyQV/view?usp=sharing">February 
2026 newsletter</a>.
</strong>
</p>

<p>Founded in 1999, DC Books to Prisons provides free books to                
individual people in prison. We also develop and support prison libraries.           
Our work is done solely by concerned volunteers using donated time            
and resources. DC Books to Prisons is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit                   
organization located in Washington DC.</p>

<p>Each year, we send more than 7,000 book packages to people incarcerated in 
over 600 prisons in the United States. We serve people in state and federal
prisons in 34 states, and people in federal prisons in Arizona. With the
exception of DC residents in federal prisons, we do not serve those 
incarcerated in 
CT, FL, IL, MA, ME, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, WA, or WI.</p>

<p>The U.S. has less than five percent of the world's population,             
yet more than 25 percent of the world's people in prison. Nearly one 
percent of American adults are incarcerated; the highest rate in              
the world. However, many imprisoned people have little access to books or 
educational material. Usually, people in prison are not allowed to receive 
books from friends or family. While some prisons have libraries,              
many do not. Of prisons that do, access and selection can be                  
extremely limited. Programs like ours are one of the few options              
available to incarcerated people seeking books.</p>

<p>There are a number of similar projects throughout the country,             
so if you are looking to get involved but are not in the 
Washington DC area,             
<a href="https://prisonbookprogram.org/prisonbooknetwork/">check              
out this website for a group near you</a>.</p>                                

<p>For further information on prison book programs, we recommend
this article by journalist Jackie Snow:
<a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/reading-behind-bars-and-beyond-barriers/"><strong>"Reading 
Behind Bars, and Beyond Barriers"</strong></a>.</p>

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