Books not enough of a priority in prison

While I appreciate the recent coverage of the Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project in Maria Srour’s article “Volunteers help send books to prisoners across the country” and found the article to be comprehensive and generally accurate, there was one piece of information that was not quite accurate.

The article states, “Organizers have been told that being in prison can prompt prisoners to use anything – even the hard cover of a book – to try and break out, which is why the covers must be ripped off.”

While it is true that prison staff articulate security concerns as a reason for prohibiting hardcover books, fear that the books will be used to help someone escape is not one of the concerns that is usually mentioned. The primary concern about hardcover books is that they might be more easily used to conceal contraband. Additionally, they might be more difficult to scan for contraband using automated techniques. While all books are checked by prison staff before they reach the inmates, many facilities do not have the resources to do thorough checks or do not see inmate literacy as an important concern so they ban the hardcover books outright.

Restrictions to books in general are also a way for prison staff to assert power and control. While the prison staff members were interviewed for this article understands the important transformative power that books can have, many are reluctant to provide resources or support to people who are incarcerated.