Mass Incarceration and Prison Books Elizabeth Findley

The United States has one of the highest prison populations per capita in the world, with a total adult correctional population of 5.44 million people, which includes people currently incarcerated, on parole, or probation (Statista, 2023). Since the start of President Nixon’s ‘war on drugs’ campaign in the early 1970s, the rate of incarceration in America has exploded, from an approximate state and federal prison population of 200,000 in 1970 to 1.23 million today (Tufts University Prison Divestment). While an increase in incarceration might suggest an increase in crime, crime rates have actually decreased since the 1990s. Explosive rates of mass incarceration did not affect the American population equally, as black men have been targeted at a rate thirteen times that of white men for drug related crime (Alexander, 2010, 98). In 2022, 1,826 black men per 100,000 Americans were imprisoned, compared to 337 white men (Korhohen, 2024). As Michelle Alexander’s powerful research suggests, America’s unprecedented mass incarceration can be understood as The New Jim Crow.

While the American Library Association asserts that everyone has a right to read and a right to intellectual freedom, outlined in "Prisoners' Right to Read: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights", reading materials are massively restricted in prisons, leading to what PEN America calls "the most extensive book ban in America" (ALA, 2019; PEN America, 2019). Prison libraries are often understocked and underfunded. For example, "according to the Illinois Newsroom ... in 2017 the state’s prison system spent $276 on nonlegal books for 28 correctional facilities, compared with $750,000 nearly two decades earlier" (Hall, 2021). Furthermore, prison systems restrict many titles, topics, and even block books-to-prisoners nonprofits. For instance, in one egregious case, The New Jersey Department of Corrections restricted prisoners from reading Alexander's The New Jim Crow, the seminal text on the racialized nature of mass incarceration described above (Inklebarger, 2018).

However, as research shows, increasing the literacy rates and strengthening the library and information access opportunities for detained and formerly detained individuals often correlates to successful rehabilitation and reentry (Hall, 2021; Davis, et. al, 2013). Not only is reading and intellectual freedom a human right, but it is an important ingredient in successful reentry. It is with this massive need in mind that many books-to-prisoners nonprofit groups exist to put books into the hands of inmates directly. One such group is Durham's Prison Books Collective, who receive letters from incarcerated individuals across North Carolina and Alabama requesting titles.

After soaking, I blended the paper scraps into a pulp, in small handfuls at a time. I transferred the freshly made pulp into a large tub mixed with more water, pictured below. Using a mould and deckle, I lowered the screened frame into the mixture, shook the frame, and raised back out - allowing the paper to drain. I then transferred the pulp from the frame to the drying station. The homemade paper dried over a 24-hour period, where it was then pressed and flattened for another 8 hours.