The Books to Prisoners movement dates back to the early 1970's, with the founding of Seattle Books to Prisoners and the Prison Book Program in Boston. During this time of heightened political organizing by liberatory social movements, marginalized people put forward demands for self determination that included the ability of incarcerated people to access materials for political education and cultural resilience behind bars. Since then, dozens of groups have been established around the US and Canada, proliferating throughout the 1990's and early 2000s largely in response to policies and practices resulting in an explosion of the U.S. prison population over less than two decades. Most books to prisoner projects are run entirely by volunteers with a few having limited employees.
A list of known BtP programs can be found here. Check out the websites of individual groups for more info.
Generally speaking, the groups collect used books or raise money to buy new ones and provide them to prisoners. Some groups mail them to individuals in prison. Others stock prison libraries. Some do both. Most serve all prisoners. A few programs specialize in services to women or the LGBTQ community.
Each group runs autonomously, and in keeping with the anarchist cultural roots of the movement, there is no centralized national organization. Members of each group collaborate on common challenges through a listserv and infrequent conferences.
This idea for an "alliance" of BtP programs coalesced around the growing need to unify individual groups like ours into a national movement to keep books accessible for incarcerated individuals. What might that look like? That's exactly what needs to be uncovered! We are seeking applicants who can lead the development of an 18-24 month work/action plan and budget for the proposed alliance. How can our groups increase our reach and efficiency? What strategies could help to address issues in censorship and tablet adoption? How do we assess the value of this work?
The exploratory committee overseeing this RFP is comprised of representative of several books to prisoners groups.
Project: Development of a Books to Prisons National Alliance
Location: Remote
Retainer Fee: $7,000-$12,000 DOE (flat fee)
Project Period: January 2022 - March 2022
Proposal Submission Process: Submit cover letter and resume at bit.ly/btpa-application by November 7, 2021
More info: https://bit.ly/bookstoprisoners or prisonbookalliance@gmail.com
The ideal candidate would have several of the following:
Familiarity with prison movements, issues and advocacy programs. Previously incarcerated persons encouraged to apply.
Movement building experience
Curiosity and ability to immerse themself in the issues and programs
Commitment to diversity and equity, experience working with diverse populations
Experience working with small, grassroots, volunteer-run organizations.
Technical skills - data analysis, data science, ability to use technology to solve problems
Willing to work with volunteer-led leadership team
Potentially work with an associate or organizer from within the books to prisoners movement
Organizational Description
An Exploratory Committee has formed organically to determine the feasibility of creating a national Books to Prisons Alliance comprised of the many, primarily local and regional, volunteer-run books to prisons programs that currently exist and mostly work autonomously. The Exploratory Committee seeks to address the following needs in the movement:
There is a need for a collective, consistent, practice-based voice representing program leaders, educators, students, volunteers, and other stakeholders experienced in the Books to Prisons work.
There is a lack of data, research, and a common evaluation framework for assessing the value of Books to Prisons programs.
Program leaders need support and connection to sustain existing programs and to start new programs.
There is an opportunity to establish and share best practices and approaches to increase the distribution of books to prisoners.
There is a disconnect between (and no formal feedback loop for) programs to inform policy and advocacy at state and national levels.
There is a need for a unified voice to counter predatory market forces seeking to benefit from state and federal funding for tablets in prisons.
There is a need for a platform to inspire the public and shape public discussion on criminal justice and literacy programs.
There is a need for a unified voice when addressing prison restrictions and rules.
There is a need for and an opportunity to influence broader issues of mass incarceration, racial and economic injustice, and prison abolition.
Working Purpose Statement
The purpose of the Alliance is to provide tangible benefits to all of the groups in the Alliance by:
Creating and maintaining a centralized data and information system;
Identifying and supporting responses to policy trends;
Raising awareness about the Books to Prisons programs with the general public; and
Developing tools and resources that maximize the groups’ ability to focus on their central missions and fundraising.
Project Description
The Exploratory Committee is seeking to hire an experienced consultant to lead and facilitate the development of the Alliance. Primary Responsibilities include:
Coordinate and facilitate meetings and work with the Exploratory Committee to address the critical first issues that need to be examined, including:
Determining the composition of the Exploratory Committee
Identifying the problem, vision, and shared values
Refine the Purpose Statement (if necessary)
Outlining organizational structure and governance
Developing internal communications mechanisms
Developing the procedure for creating a work/action plan
Determining resource needs (financial, staffing, informational, technology, etc.)
Lead the development of an 18-24 month work/action plan and budget, including:
Conduct a landscape analysis to identify existing local and regional books to prisons programs and the core elements of their programs and constituencies; identify exemplar programs and programs that could use more support to thrive.
Prepare a report on the findings of interviews (possibly in focus group formats) with a cohort of stakeholders that is substantive enough to draw key conclusions about collaborative opportunities, needs, and interests that can drive the formation, structure, and programming of the Alliance.
Develop a list of books to prisons groups that should be recruited into the Alliance, centering diversity and inclusion in all recruiting efforts.
Identify additional strategic partners, such as book publishers, distributors, prisoner allies, media, current and formerly incarcerated individuals, etc., who could partner in this work.
Assess potential future growth opportunities, such as legislative advocacy, lobbying, voter re-enfranchisement, tablet watch, Mail Guard, book publishing, fiscal sponsorship of smaller groups, joint fundraising, etc.