From a press release:
Imagine a life without books. For many Illinois prisoners that was a reality, as prison libraries closed due to a lack of funding for staff and books. In 2004 U-C Books to Prisoners was organized locally to recycle donated books to prisoners in Illinois. Since 2006, when Books to Prisoners started keeping computerized records, volunteers have sent 106,623 books to 31,002 inmates in Illinois facilities. Books are sent in response to letters written by inmates. The letters are read by our volunteers who answer requests with books donated by people in our community. The most requested books are dictionaries. Books to Prisoners pays for postage and for packing materials through funds raised at books sales which are held twice per year in the spring and the fall. Shipping costs run about $800 per month. Books to Prisoners also buys dictionaries, as we do not collect enough to keep up with demand. Last year we spent $2500 on dictionaries and this year our costs are running ahead of that amount. We purchase paperback dictionaries because some prisons and our local county jails do not permit hardcover books and because hardcovers are heavier and more expensive to ship. In addition to sending books to prisons, Books to Prisoners staff and stock lending libraries in both the downtown Urbana jail and the newer satellite jail.
UC Books to Prisoners is sponsoring a used book sale for ONE day only, Saturday, 4/11/15 from 12pm–5pm. The sale will be located at the IMC in the downtown Urbana Post Office building at 202 S. Broadway. Admission is free. Children’s books $0.25, paperbacks $0.50 and hardbacks $1.00. UC Books to Prisoners is a not-for-profit project that provides recycled books free of charge to Illinois inmates and operates lending libraries at the local jails. For more information check out the Books to Prisoners website at www.BooksToPrisoners.org. For questions or interview requests from news or ad outlets, Lolita Dumas, Volunteer Supervisor, can be reached at: 217-390-9290.