Books Beyond Bars Reading Month Fundraiser!

At Books Beyond Bars, we believe books have the power to change lives. A $100 donation buys an incarcerated person a year’s worth of books. That’s a year’s worth of education, self-empowerment, personal growth, or even just a brief escape from the trying realities of incarceration.

Books Beyond Bars is a program of the non-profit Center for Appellate Litigation, a Manhattan public defender’s office. BBB’s mission is simple: to provide incarcerated individuals with access to any book they want to read. We support the literacy, self-empowerment, and imagination of some of New York’s most disenfranchised community members.

Our model differs from a traditional books-to-prisons program. Instead of sending donated books, we respond to incarcerated individuals’ requests for specific titles. We track down those titles and send them directly to the requester. The books are theirs to keep forever or pass along to others. We are, in effect, a free bookstore for the incarcerated.

Since our founding in 2016, BBB has sent over 10,000 books into prisons across New York State—everything from college prep guides to The World Almanac, from Don Quixote to Building a Successful Construction Company. We acknowledge and respect that participants in our program have unique interests, desires, and aspirations that can be nurtured through access to a wide variety of reading material.

Recognized in The New York Times , American Libraries Magazine , and New York Focus, and most importantly, by our clients:

Last year, we received 70% more requests than the previous year. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to help more incarcerated people get access to the quality reading material they deserve, but we can't do it alone. We need your financial support to continue the incredible work we do!