Inside Books Project is a local Austin nonprofit that sends free books to persons incarcerated in Texas prisons. Last year Inside Books sent approximately 55,000 books in response to letters from persons incarcerated in Texas. People requested dictionaries, text books, study guides, fiction, poetry, self-help books, religious and spiritual guides, trade manuals and every other sort of reading you could name or imagine. 99% of these books are donated to Inside Books by people like our own congregants who have contributed both books and financial donations to Inside Books for over a decade. There is a tub in our First UU Greet Center where you can leave books you would like to donate to Inside Books Project. Inside Books is a project supported by First UU Green Sanctuary Ministry as it recycles books and inspires lives.
In return, prisoners have sent notes of appreciation such as, “I appreciate everything ya’ll do, not only for me, but for all the souls who are locked up doing time. Thanks for giving us a little taste of freedom. May God bless all your days.” We also receive art, poetry, and stories of their lives. Many prisoners receive no mail other than the books we send, so we write each prisoner a personal letter as part of the package of books they receive. The books become the personal property of each incarcerated person and can be shared and traded. With 66% of Texas prisons lacking air conditioning in their living quarters, reading is also a welcome diversion from the baking heat.
The biggest expense Inside Books has is postage, including mailing related costs like packaging and tape. The project works out of Vesper Church in east Austin where they pay a moderate rent and the church views the project as part of their service to the larger community.
Volunteers gather on Thursday and Sunday evenings to send books to Texas prisoners. You can
sign up online to attend either of these sessions as a Volunteer for Inside Books Project. There is also a session on Thursdays from 10am-2pm. Email green@austinuu.org if you are interested in volunteering at this session.
Volunteers from Inside Books also drive boxes of books to Texas prisons for their libraries. Not all Texas prisons have libraries, but the ones that do generally rely on book donations to fill their shelves. Additionally, we drive boxes of paperback books to county jails like Harris, Bexar, Tarrant and Dallas counties where there are tens of thousands of persons locked up. These jails usually do not have libraries, but distribute books directly to prisoners who keep them.
This year several volunteers from Inside Books worked to revive the library at the Travis County Jail in Del Valle which had become defunct during Covid. Now they have a library that is set up and functioning again, staffed by outside volunteers.
Inside Books Project gets a lot done on a small budget and we appreciate every dollar we receive in donations and every book that comes in the door. Thank you for your soul saving generosity.
