Bye, Bye Library Book Sale Extras
An outreach that gratifies a booklover’s heart
Books and DVDs left on the shelves following last weekend’s successful Fayette Public Library book sale have a second chance at ending up in the hands of appreciative readers.
“On Monday, May 1, we packed up and helped load a couple of dozen boxes of books for a community service volunteer organization in Austin called Inside Books Project. It mails books and educational materials to prisoners in Texas,” says Fayette Public Library Program Coordinator Carol Perales.
Inside Books Project promotes reading, literacy and education among incarcerated individuals, and educates the general public on issues of incarceration. The free service is the only books-to-prisoners program in Texas where over 120,000 people are incarcerated.
So far, the Inside Books Project has sent over 250,000 free books to inmates in Texas, funded entirely by donations from the community. Inside Books Project has no paid staff; all donations go directly to support its mission. Books that the inmates receive become their personal property.
“I’m really excited by the range and quality of books donated by the Fayette Public Library. These boxes of books are like gold to our project,” says Erik Lindfors, who has volunteered with the nonprofit for three years.
“Sometimes, inmates request a particular author or are interested in special categories of books. In addition to fiction and non-fiction, we send puzzles and GED/trade titles, plus books written in Spanish and materials for those wanting to improve their reading skills,” he adds.
Inside Books Project volunteers open letters from inmates, select books that best fit the requests and make up packages to mail back. In the process, volunteers learn about the hopes and challenges of Texas inmates by personally reading and responding to individual requests. Many of the enthusiastic volunteers who work during the day are retirees like Erik. UT students regularly come in during the evening to help and other volunteers are completing courtordered service hours.
“Several library patrons asked what would happen to the books that didn’t sell and I’m glad to say they will be utilized by Inside Books Project,” adds Carol, who identified the non-profit and its mission through an internet search.
Most of the books distributed through Inside Books Project are from personal and corporate donations. For information on the kinds of books the group seeks, what it can’t accept and how to donate funds, visit https://insidebooksproject. org. This independent 501(c)(3) non-profit was founded in 1998.