Processing materials

All the donated materials must be processed before being transported to the jails. Volunteers stamp books and remove anything that shouldn’t be there (mailing labels on magazines, previous owner’s names, credit card bills used as bookmarks, nail files, etc.). Materials are then sorted and packed in boxes.

Book/Magazine Processing

In order to take in new materials, we have to sort and process them on a regular basis. We do that on campus, at the SLlS Library (4th floor of HC White). We keep our donations and office supplies in the Chapter Office in the library. Any time the library is open you can come in, ask for the Chapter Office key at the desk, and do whatever you have time for (I’d say a minimum of 30 minutes at a time to get a box or two packed up to go to the jails).

Follow these simple steps to process materials:

1. Search books and materials and remove anything that doesn’t belong (including rubber bands, photos, paper clips etc.).
2. Remove identifiers. Scribble out names written in books, cut address labels off magazines and newspapers.
3. Stamp books with the "Jail Library" stamp. Stamp top and side spine, and once on the first page of the book. If the book is thin and you can’t stamp the spine, you may stamp the cover and inside the book.

4. Fill a box full of materials and tape it up. Label the box with an approximate description of contents ("New magazines and fiction books" or "Textbooks and old non-fiction"). This will help us prioritize what goes to the jail first. Boxes can be found in the fourth floor hallways each afternoon. If you are a SLIS student, grab the boxes you see and stockpile them in the chapter office so you’ll have boxes to use. Please don’t use large boxes that may be too heavy for one person to easily cany when full.

   • If you have time to sort the books and magazines into genre, this will be very helpful to the volunteers who unpack them in the jail. Include this information in the label on the box.

   • While we don’t censor materials that go to the jail based on content*, we do try to screen out items that will not be of much interest in the jails. For example, old news and sports magazines, out of date health related materials, extremely esoteric or highly focused academic materials, or things that we might sell to fund the purchase of high interest materials (autographed copies or antiques) should be set aside. Boxes will be set aside for the items in these categories (or ones you are unsure about). An experienced jail volunteer will check them to make the call on their usability in the jail.

   * There are a very few things that we cannot give the inmates (based on Supreme Court rulings regarding reading matter in jails and prisons). These are items that explicitly give instructions on starting a riot, that describe how to break out of a jail or prison in detail, materials containing detailed images or drawings of the insides of weapons, and materials with a primary focus on nudity (this includes Playboy but not Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues or Maxim). If you are unsure, put a note on the item and set it aside.