Prison life is monotonous, hostile and debilitating. Although many prisons offer educational programs for their inmates, these programs are often for earning your GED or preparing for employment after release.

When in prison, opportunities to enrich the mind are far and few between. A small part of an inmate’s day is filled with physical activity and prison work, but the majority of time is spent sitting in a cell or in a secure common area. Although there is plenty of time for intellectual work, prisoners are left to initiate this on their own.

Many inmates are interested in having the opportunity to read while in prison, but they often don’t have the means to get books on their own. This is why prison book projects are so important, and why we should continue to support the intellectual pursuits of those in prison by donating our unused books to these programs.

Prison book programs are donation-based programs that provide a library of books to local prisons. These organizations make it possible for prisoners to stay in touch with the world and enrich their minds while behind bars. Through these efforts, many inmates are able to fill their minds with the information and skills they will need to establish their lives after release.

There are two programs in California that donate books to prisons in California and across the nation. You can send your books their way, and they will send them those in great need of a good read!

To donate text books, contact Groundwork Books in La Jolla, California, at 858.452.9625 and ask about their Books 4 Prisoners Program.

To donate all other fiction and non-fiction books, contact The Claremont Forum’s Prison Library Project at 909.626.3066. Please note that this program does not accept college textbooks, encyclopedias or damaged books.

Whether you are in prison or not, there is no better way to enrich the mind, stimulate and entertain the imagination and learn new skills than through reading. Give those in prison the opportunity to read by donating your unused books today.

Shannon Barnett owns the site Careers in Criminal Justice. In her spare time, she enjoys writing articles for various other sites on many topics of interest.