by Karina Hagelin

iDiversity is collecting books on behalf of Chicago Books to Women in Prison, which is an all-volunteer group that distributes paperback books free of charge to people incarcerated in women’s prisons nationwide to offer women behind bars the opportunity for self-empowerment, education, and entertainment that reading provides.

The book drive will run through the end of the Spring 2017 semester. You can donate your paperback books in our donation box in the 4^th Floor Hornbake Lounge. They must be in new or good condition and published within the last ten years. We are particularly seeking:

• Urban books
• Contemporary African-American romance
• True crime
• Transgender fiction and non-fiction
• Bisexual fiction and non-fiction
• Dictionaries—mainly English, but also English-Spanish and other languages, as well as Bible, Scrabble and crossword puzzle dictionaries
• Crafts (especially origami, cardmaking and crochet)
• Drawing
• Calligraphy
• Puzzle books, especially Sudoku, word searches, crosswords and fill-ins
• Recovery and addiction (general and specific substances, practical guidance and memoirs)
• Mental health, especially depression, anxiety and trauma/PTSD
• Legal books appropriate to the typical needs of people in prison—”jailhouse lawyer” manuals, legal research, law dictionaries, etc.
• Starting and running a business
• Bible dictionaries
• Study Bibles
• Language learning—mainly Spanish, but many others too, including American Sign Language—beginners’ and self-study books are especially useful
• Astrology

You can find more information about donations here. Another great way to get involved in supporting incarcerated folks is to volunteer as an penpal to a LGBTQ prisoner via Black and Pink. We’ll be holding a letter-writing night soon! Stay tuned for more details.