Book Donation Guidelines

General Guidelines:

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
Hardcover non-fiction with a UPC on the back will be accepted for re-sale through Better World Books
Books that are over 25 years old cannot be used, as they are often outdated or in poor condition.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.
Publishers, please review our "Publisher Guidelines"
A list of books we cannot use is located here. Please check this out before bringing books!

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

Where To Bring Donations

Book donations can be dropped off at the PBP office in the basement of the United First Parish Church in Quincy Center during our normal volunteer hours. We usually have lots of volunteers to help unload your car if you arrive more than a half-hour before the end of the session.

Because of space limitations, please contact us if you are bringing more than six boxes (617-423-3298 or info@prisonbookprogram.org).

If you do not live in the Boston area: If you have books to donate and do not live in the Boston area, we encourage you to donate them to another "Books to Prisoners" program near you. Because it is prohibitively expensive to ship books, we do not encourage people to ship books unless they are subjects listed above.

Book Drives and Book Drop Off Sites

Please contact us if your business, church, or other organization would like to serve as a book drop off center and/or hold a book drive!