In connection with the One Book program, the Writing Center will collect book donations this semester in support of the Prison Book Program. Prisoners have limited access to educational services; despite this fact, many proactive prisoners seek materials to self-educate. The Prison Book Program collects reading requests from prisoners and works with the community to find appropriate book selections for the reader. Read more about the program here: http://www.prisonbookprogram.org/mission.php
Please note the Book Donation Guidelines below and send your donations to Johanna Pittman, the Writing Center Coordinator, in room SC113. If you have any questions or want to learn how else you can help, contact Johanna Pittman at x1975 or jpittman@massasoit.mass.edu
- Books must be paperback (most prisons will not allow hard-covers)
- Paperback fiction in excellent or new condition (we cannot use hardcover fiction)
- Paperback non-fiction in good, excellent, or new condition
- Books that are over 25 years old cannot be used, as they are often outdated or in poor condition. If it does not have a UPC on the back cover, it is likely too old.
- Note: these books cannot be used: hardcover fiction, encyclopedias, legal journals, magazines, academic journals, textbooks before 2000, books with writing/highlighting, books with stickers that cannot be removed, books with spiral or comb bindings)
The following subjects and genres are in constant demand:
- African-American studies
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X and works about or by Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Native American studies
- Mexican, Aztec, and Mayan studies
- Puerto Rican studies
- English dictionaries, thesauruses, and foreign language dictionaries
- GED Prep
- Spanish/English dictionaries and books in Spanish
- How to start a small business.
- Consumer-level legal materials (law dictionaries, etc.)
- General Health
- Gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender studies
- Trades (i.e. woodworking, automotive, etc.)
- Spirituality & Religion - especially Bible concordances & dictionaries, Islam and non-mainstream religions such as Wicca, Paganism, New Age, etc.
- History
- Psychology and philosophy
- Secret societies and the occult (e.g., Masons, Rosicrucian Order, extra terrestrials, etc.)
- Mysteries
- Westerns
