'You have helped save my life': Local organization provides books to inmates

UNC alum Leigh Lassiter still remembers seeing a flyer for the Prison Books Collective on campus back in 2015. A few years later, Lassiter decided to reach out to the collective, and for the past five years they have been the organization's secretary, processing and fulfilling requests for books from inmates in prisons in North Carolina and beyond.

The Prison Books Collective, which was founded in 2006 and achieved nonprofit status 10 years later, is an organization that sends books and magazines to incarcerated people in both state and federal prisons.

Lassiter has used reading as a way to process grief and to escape complicated situations throughout their life. They said they can imagine that books could also provide comfort for prisoners, which inspires Lassiter to continue their work at the collective. 

“To try to give them somewhere else to be, and something maybe even to hope for, is why I do that,” they said.

The collective is an official publisher and distributor, which means it is able to get books into prisons despite strict restrictions dictating who can bring literature beyond cell walls. Many states, including North Carolina, have implemented content-neutral bans, meaning that friends and family members of inmates cannot send books or magazines directly to inmates; they must ship them from publishers or online retailers.

Additionally, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction has a list of books that are banned in prison, including “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” by Malcolm X with Alex Haley. 

“We receive requests from inmates or their friends and family and loved ones, either through letters written to us or through certain email platforms, and we have a book collection that is made up of donations from anyone,” volunteer Maria Palmtag said. 

She said that volunteers meet in the collective's space every Sunday to open letters and emails and package books that they feel will best fulfill those requests.

“Prison libraries tend to be woefully inadequate; they are underfunded,” Palmtag said. “Some of them don't even have libraries. [A prison library] is also a privilege that can be taken away from prisoners by various infractions. By sending books directly to them, it qualifies as their personal property, so it is a lot harder to take them away.” 

The Prison Books Collective is also unique in its ability to connect inmates and volunteers. Lassiter said that volunteers fulfill each request from start to finish, which allows them to establish a personal relationship with the incarcerated person. 

For co-treasurer Max Berry, these relationships with prisoners also allow the volunteers to better empathize with the prisoners' complicated situations. 

“I don't think people really understand both the diversity of experiences within North Carolina's prison system and just what it does to an individual,” he said. 

Berry said that he could not stress enough how grateful prisoners are when they are able to get books from the collective and how great a difference it makes in their lives. 

While the Sunday volunteering sessions are a large part of the Prison Books Collective, they are not the only way to get involved with the organization. The collective also offers remote volunteer opportunities, such as transcription, spreadsheet organization and other off-site roles. 

Lassiter said that the Prison Books Collective is flexible with volunteer availability and commitment. While sometimes volunteers may feel guilty for not being able to dedicate more of their time to the collective, Lassiter said that everyone who has volunteered in some way has changed someone's life. 

The collective also encourages community involvement through intermittent book drives in collaboration with local businesses such as Flyleaf Books and Golden Fig Books. Community members are also invited to donate books on the first Saturday of each month between 1-2 p.m. in Carrboro Town Square. 

“We always need legal help books. Books about money, good money practices, are also really helpful,” Palmtag said. “Books about various religions, coloring books, puzzle books, urban fiction — [those are] always a need.” 

Lassiter said that dictionaries are also highly requested, since they give prisoners a tool to read more advanced literature and legal help books. 

“We've had several people tell us that they've started to learn how to properly read when they're 30, when they're 60, and we send them beginning reader books,” they said. 

The impact that the Prison Books Collective has had on incarcerated clients is evident in their testimonies, Lassiter said. One in particular stood out to them. 

“‘I really enjoy reading a lot, and because of you, I get an awesome selection of books to read,’” they read from a letter an inmate wrote to them. “‘You help me so much, and you've never even met me. Thank you. You're a blessing, and you have helped save my life.’” 

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