1.) Why do some places not accept hard cover books?
The Canadian Correctional system has different security mandates for the various levels of incarceration. Upon arrest individuals are placed in remand facilities. A remand or detention centre is where people are held until they make bail, or for the many who do not, until they are tried. No person being held in remand is allowed access to hard cover material.
After trial, if the individual is convicted they are transported to a federal institution. Federal institutions have far more relaxed book security policies and allow hard cover material.
Because the number of people who become acquitted (or cleared) at trial and do not move to federal institutions is much larger than the number of people convicted of a crime, there is a far greater demand for soft cover material.
A person can typically spend up to two and a half years incarcerated in Southern Ontario before trial.
2.) Don’t jails and prisons have libraries?
Unlike what we see on television and in the movies, the majority of Ontario’s incarceration facilities do not have designated libraries. In federal locations, some have library areas, but for the majority the libraries were converted into other spaces some years ago.
90% of Ontario’s remand and detention spaces have no library. There is little space designated to store reading material and what is kept is organized and distributed by cart through volunteer librarians or in many cases, volunteer coordinators. In 2010, many of the spaces designated to bookkeeping in these remands are being further downsized, due to a lack of budget.
3.) Should I be donating my books to people in jail?
We strongly advocate that the importance of reading should not be disregarded just because someone is in jail. In Canada literacy rates among those incarcerated are drastically lower than one who has never been arrested. In fact, in 2007 the John Howard Society of Edmonton conducted a study showing institutions that implimented strong reading and education programs reaped a 32% lower re-incarceration rate than those institutions who did not.
If you navigate to our ‘Accounts of Inmates’ page you can read a few paragraphs written by people in custody who make use of the program.
4.) Do all the books I donate go to the institutions listed?
Roughly 95% of all material donated to Books to Bars is delivered to one of the institutions on our current roster. If any book is not it is because it falls out of what can be accepted in jail or prison. Any book that can not be donated to Ontario’s incarcerated is donated to either abused woman shelters or rehabilitation support centers. Books to Bars does not sell, personally acquire or publicly redistribute any material donated.
Typically very few types of books fall into this category, and are as follows:
-adolescent or childrens books
-coil bound or staple bound material
5.) How is Books to Bars funded?
Books to Bars is not government funded. We work mostly out of pocket, relying on the generosity of our volunteers. Books to Bars is however able to accept private donations, as well as gas cards, and donations of packaging material. If you would like to contribute to support Books to Bars you can contact us at bookstobars@gmail.com or through Pay Pal on our homepage.
6.) Can I get involved?
Yes! Books to Bars consists of a very small, dedicated group constantly striving to improve literacy in Ontario’s incarcerated. We embrace new volunteers, and are always surprised at how much a new idea can strengthen our organization.
Please contact us if you have any suggestions, ideas or would like to volunteer with us. Contacts vary by city, and you can navigate to the ‘Contact Us’ page of our site for the appropriate information.
