What Prison Book Program Inc does

Prison Book Program Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1972 and headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, that sends free, individually selected books and resource guides to incarcerated people across the United States. The organization operates as an approved book vendor at over 1,000 prisons and jails in all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico, fulfilling book requests submitted by postal mail or online form. In 2025, it mailed nearly 65,000 books to more than 18,500 people, supported by a small paid staff of approximately five to seven members and a volunteer base of 1,566 individuals contributing during scheduled sessions in the basement of United First Parish Church.

The organization's core offering is a book fulfillment service built on a library of more than 60 nonfiction categories and 30 fiction genres, supplemented by two proprietary self-published resources: the National Prisoner Resource List, a directory of 150-plus support organizations published for over 40 years, and the Insider's Guide to Jailhouse Law, introduced in 2024 as a free legal reference for pro se filings. Packages are mailed via the U.S. Postal Service at an average cost of $6.18 per three-pound shipment. A fiscally sponsored subsidiary, the Albert Woodfox Memorial Mini-Freedom Libraries, extends the mission into physical in-facility library builds. The organization operates no proprietary technology systems, relying on manual volunteer selection, paper-based inventory, and postal logistics.

Prison Book Program is funded through tax-deductible individual donations processed via ActBlue, planned giving (bequests, retirement assets, charitable IRA rollovers), donated books from individuals and publishers (including wish-list integrations with Amazon, Better World Books, and ten independent bookstores), and merchandise sales via Spreadshop. Books and materials are always free to recipients. The go-to-market model is community-led: word-of-mouth among incarcerated populations is the primary awareness channel, supplemented by flyers in facilities, earned media (NPR, GBH News, WCVB, Governing, CBS Boston), and partnerships with the broader Books to Prisons Network. As of 2026, the organization does not serve state or local facilities in Texas, Michigan, or California, though federal facilities in those states remain within scope.

Name

Prison Book Program Inc

Legal name

Prison Book Program

Website

https://prisonbookprogram.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Prison Book Program Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1972 in Quincy, Massachusetts, that mails free, individually selected books and legal/resource guides to incarcerated people across all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico, supported by a volunteer base of more than 1,500.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prison literacy and correctional education services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corrections & Reentry Adult Literacy (Justice-Involved Learners) (EDAAAAAL), Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation) (EDAEAGAJ)

Keywords

• Books to prisoners
• Prison literacy services
• Incarcerated reader resources
• Nonprofit book donation
• Correctional education

Headquarters

HQ city

Quincy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the mission of sending free books to incarcerated people. Accepts online donations via ActBlue and checks.
2. Merchandise Sales: Official merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, hats, bags, mugs, stickers sold through Spreadshop platform. Proceeds support the mission.
3. Planned Giving: Bequests, stock/securities gifts, retirement plan assets, charitable IRA rollovers, and bank/investment account beneficiary designations.
4. Book Donations: Books donated by individuals, publishers, and authors. Also receives donations through Amazon wish lists and Better World Books wish list.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Prison Book Program sends free, individually selected books and resource guides to people incarcerated in prisons and jails across the United States. Volunteers curate books from a library spanning more than 60 nonfiction categories and 30 fiction genres, and mail them to approved facilities along with handwritten personal notes. The organization also publishes and distributes the National Prisoner Resource List and the Insider's Guide to Jailhouse Law to incarcerated readers upon request.

Product overview

Prison Book Program operates as a single-mission nonprofit organization offering a unified service rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is book fulfillment services that send free books to incarcerated people upon request. This core service is supported by two complementary self-published resources: the National Prisoner Resource List (NPRL), a directory of support organizations published for over 40 years, and the Insider's Guide to Jailhouse Law, a free legal guide published since 2024. The organization also operates a merchandise store (via Spreadshop) to generate supplemental funding. All products share the mission of supporting literacy and education for incarcerated individuals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Book Fulfillment Services Free book fulfillment service that sends individually selected books and reading materials to incarcerated individuals upon request. Volunteers curate packages from a library spanning over 60 nonfiction categories and 30 fiction genres and mail them to approved facilities. All books are free to recipients.
• National Prisoner Resource List (NPRL) Self-published directory of over 150 organizations providing services to incarcerated people, including family support, legal help, health information, research assistance, and educational services. Distributed free of charge upon request.
• Insider's Guide to Jailhouse Law Free self-published legal reference guide for incarcerated people covering the U.S. legal system, rights of incarcerated people, instructions for filing writs and motions pro se, a capsule legal dictionary, templates for parole hearings, and lists of legal assistance organizations. Available in English and Spanish.
• Prison Book Program Merchandise Store Official merchandise store selling branded items including t-shirts, hoodies, long sleeve shirts, tank tops, caps, bags, backpacks, aprons, socks, buttons, stickers, magnets, and mugs. Operated on the Spreadshop platform with on-demand printing and shipping; proceeds support the mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65,000 books sent to 18,500 people in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Better World BookscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVital and trusted partner for more than two decades. Certified B corporation that shares belief in universal book access. Through their Literacy Fund, BWB has provided generous and sustained support to PBP and hundreds of other nonprofits. PBP maintains a wish list on their platform.
• AmazonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPBP maintains an Amazon wish list where supporters can purchase books directly for donation to the organization.
• All She WroteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner with wish list for PBP support.
• Brookline BooksmithminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner with wish list for PBP support.
• Frugal BookstoreminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner with wish list for PBP support.
• Harvard Book StoreminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner with wish list for PBP support.
• Porter Square BooksminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner with wish list for PBP support.
• Side Quest BooksminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner with wish list for PBP support.
• Wellesley BooksminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner with wish list for PBP support.
• Million Year PicnicminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner (in-store purchases only) with wish list for PBP support.
• Read My LipsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent bookstore partner with wish list for PBP support.
• United First Parish ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPBP operates from the basement of United First Parish Church (Church of the Presidents) in Quincy Center. The church provides the physical space for volunteer sessions and book storage/distribution operations.
• Albert Woodfox Memorial Mini-Freedom LibrariescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA fiscally sponsored project of Prison Book Program, directed by Calvin Arey. Creates and maintains freedom libraries in correctional facilities. Calvinal spent several years incarcerated and is the only surviving lead plaintiff from landmark prisoners' rights case Landman v. Royster.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Books Through Bars: Books Through Bars operates chapters in Brooklyn and Philadelphia sending free books to incarcerated people on the same books-to-prisoners model as PBP, with volunteer-driven mail fulfillment and curated reading lists.
• Books to Prisoners: Seattle-based Books to Prisoners is a volunteer-powered books-to-prisoners program that mails free books to incarcerated individuals nationwide, directly comparable in mission, model, and volunteer-driven fulfillment.
• Liberation Library: Liberation Library is a Chicago-based nonprofit that curates and sends free books to youth in prison, operating on a closely analogous curated-book-mailing model aimed at an incarcerated readership.
• Midwest Books to Prisoners: Minneapolis-based Midwest Books to Prisoners sends free books and other educational materials to incarcerated people across the Midwest, sharing PBP's volunteer letter-fulfillment model and target population.

Others

• Better World Books: Better World Books is a certified B corporation that resells and donates books and runs a Literacy Fund supporting nonprofits like PBP — a key two-decade strategic book-supply partner rather than a competitor.
• Emerson Prison Initiative: EPI delivers higher education inside correctional facilities, addressing the same education-for-incarcerated-people mission as PBP but through college coursework rather than book fulfillment; a PBP board member works there.
• Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts: PLS provides legal assistance to Massachusetts prisoners — adjacent to PBP's Insider's Guide to Jailhouse Law work and overlapping in incarcerated-audience support, with overlap on the PBP Board of Directors.

Emerging players

• American Prison Data Systems: APDS provides free tablets and digital educational content to incarcerated people — a tech-enabled, mission-adjacent competitor addressing the same literacy and education needs in carceral settings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/prisonbookprog
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/prisonbookprogram
• Facebookfacebook.com/PrisonBookProgram
• Instagraminstagram.com/prisonbookprogram
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prison-book-program

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Prison Book Program Inc