IMC - Books to Prisoners

UC Books to Prisoners is an Urbana, Illinois based project providing books to people in prison in Illinois by mail as well as through the Champaign county jail library which we operate.

We are an 20 year-old community-powered and volunteer-run organization with a number of easy ways for you to get involved. No experience is required (but it helps if you like to read). It suits most volunteers to give two to four hours a month due to the nature of the work, but if you like, you can volunteer more often,

Our volunteers interact with the incarcerated by reading their book request letters, selecting books from our collection and preparing them for shipment. They also regularly sort through book donations. We also staff a lending library in the Champaign County jail. If you would prefer to work behind the scenes, we can also utilize your unique skills coordinating book drives, fund raising, tech-support, packing boxes, data-base work, developing programs to educate and engage the community around issues of books and prisons, staffing our book sales, and more.