iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Thanks so much to the University of Michigan Alumni Association Philadelphia Chapter for joining us for a volunteer session! We are 100% volunteer-run, and always in need of volunteers. If you would like to bring a group to volunteer with us, reach out via our website!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

It’s almost spooky season! 👻🎃🍁 We need nonfiction books on ghosts/paranormal topics as well as table-top roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons. Coordinate a donation of your used books by emailing donations@booksthroughbars.org or purchase from our wishlist!

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Reposted by Books Through Bars Philly

Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

"After enduring months of anti-ICE protests at its bank offices, Citizens Financial Group is parting ways with two for-profit prison operators that oversee detention facilities for the federal immigration enforcement agency." www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/17/b...

bostonglobe.com

Citizens Bank parts ways with two prison operators amid ICE protests - The Boston Globe

Citizens said the end of its relationships with GEO Group and CoreCivic was driven by changing financial needs of the two clients, not by protests.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Thanks so much to Foulkeways retirement community in Gwenydd for this donation of books a couple weeks ago! We greatly appreciate it! Nearly our entire library comes from donations like these!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to us during porch fest and dollar stroll! Celebrating that we raised over $900 dollars this will help us send more books to people in prisons!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

We have wishlists for books on our website but not for supplies. Postage is our biggest expense (about $32k spent on this last year) so monetary donations to our PayPal or Venmo are the most helpful for supply expenses.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Good question! The size isn’t the problem with those, but the paper is usually more flimsy and rips apart, so we typically use the kind you get from grocery stores or restaurants.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Some of our packages need to be individually wrapped with paper bags, and we are nearly out. Do you have any to donate? Help us out!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Emergency! We are nearly out of dictionaries! These are among our top requested books, as people in prisons are often using them to improve their literacy. Can you donate a dictionary (softcovers strongly preferred) or make a donation so we can purchase some?

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Thanks so much to the folks from PHL-17 for joining us for a volunteer session! We are 100% volunteer-run, and always in need of volunteers. If you would like to bring a group to volunteer with us, reach out via our website!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Thanks so much to the volunteers from @exelonofficial.bsky.social who picked and invoiced books with us earlier this month! They also brought us lots of books, which are greatly appreciated! 📚📚📚

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

99% of our books are donated (we buy dictionaries and almanacs which are highly requested). For more info on what books we need and how to donate, visit www.booksthroughbars.org/donate-books

booksthroughbars.org

Donate Books | Books Through Bars Philadelphia

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Pictured here is Maddie with two bags of books which she collected at her wedding for Books Through Bars! Many thanks for the donation! We send out thousands of books every month and are always in need of more!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

We get a number of requests written in Spanish - we always need more volunteers to help translate and pick books. We also could always use more books written in Spanish or for learning English/Spanish If you’d like to volunteer or donate books, check out the links on our website!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Thanks to everyone who stopped by during porchfest last Saturday! We’ll be out again this Thursday for Dollar Stroll! Stop by for $1 books or $5 to fill a bag with books.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

We need cookbooks! Email donations@booksthroughbars.org to coordinate a donation! Check out www.booksthroughbars.org/donate-books for updated information about the kinds of books we need.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

We need dictionaries! They are one of our most requested books, soft-cover strongly preferred. Email us at donations@booksthroughbars.org to set up a drop-off!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Thanks so much to the West Chester University Criminal Justice club for volunteering with us a couple weeks ago!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Join us on Memorial Day for a packathon! We’re starting the day with a new volunteer orientation from 11-1 (signup at booksthroughbars.org/volunteer) followed by a potluck style lunch at 1! Bring a friend and a dish for a day full of picking and packing books! Drop in as you wish!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Join Books Through Bars & Hearts On A Wire on Wednesday, May 5th from 6:30-8:30 for Literary Liberation! This is an educational event for anyone interested in low-risk advocacy for people who are incarcerated. We’ll chat about our work and then dive into volunteering tasks! Snacks & masks provided.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

A few of our volunteers showed up for the #marchofinnocence block party last week to table as part of Mumia Week 2026. None of us are free until all of us are free! #FreeThemAll #FreeMumia #FreeMumiaAbuJamal

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

We asked our volunteers, what brings you to this work? I'd like to introduce more discussions about mass incarceration to the indie newsroom I created, and would like to be more educated myself. - BTB volunteer

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Thanks so much to the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia for coming to volunteer with us last weekend! If you are interested in bringing a group to volunteer with us, reach out via the contact form on our website!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

One awesome way you should celebrate is by buying books from our wishlist; bookshop.org/wishlists/60... All donations are matched so your impact is doubled, this week only! Help us send books to people in prisons!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

This year, we are excited to partner with The Head & the Hand, Brickbat Books, Bindlestiff Books, Capricorn Books, Giovanni's Room, & the DuBois-Robeson People’s Center! Support both us and these awesome bookstores for independent bookstore day!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Saturday the 25th through Saturday May 2nd, all books bought for us from our wishlist or partner bookstores will be matched in a cash donation. This is one of the best times of the year to buy books for us! Check out our wishlist here; bookshop.org/wishlists/60...

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

…feel as though I’m doing something tangible to subvert the purely punitive motives of the PIC, and potentially meet like-minded individuals. - Courtney, BTB volunteer

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I miss that aspect of my work, and I have seen firsthand the impact that organizations like this can have. Through volunteering, I hope to have a small impact on and to maybe improve someone experiencing incarceration’s day,…

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I have worked within the criminal justice system for years, and, formerly, directly with incarcerated members of my community as an indigent defense attorney.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

We asked our volunteers: what brings you to our work?

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Thanks so much to Beyond Arrests for volunteering with us today!!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

The greatest impact your donated books have had on me is that they give me a sense of self-worth as I gain knowledge and put it to use in my everyday life. -B from PA

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

All that I've learned from the How-to Draw and paint books have been invaluable. The language learning books have been especially helpful. They not only offer me the mental escape from prison, but also useful knowledge for reading foreign comics and listening to foreign music.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Testimonials from people in prison. Can you tell us about a time when one of our books helped you? What impact did it have? Almost every book I've received through your service has helped me in one way or another.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

We recently sent out our first newsletter of the year! We send out four newsletters each year with updates on our work, educational features, and ways to get involved. In this issue we shared details on our upcoming fundraiser, a look at life without parole sentences, and more!

What’s in store this year:

Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, April 26 this year! To celebrate, buy books for us from our special online wishlist anytime between April 25 and May 2, and all donations will be matched with a cash donation. These match weeks happen twice a year (spring and fall) and are the best times to support us, as your impact is doubled.
For all trained and local volunteers, we’ll be hosting “packathons” throughout the year. At packathons, we dedicate a full day to catching up on book requests, often fulfilling hundreds of requests with the help of volunteers who drop in throughout the day.
Lastly, we hope to see you during in-person events at West Philly Porch Fest on Saturday, May 30

BTB By the Numbers
We’ve compiled our final totals for 2025: we logged 10,000 requests across 212 unique institutions last year! That’s a lot of books.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

We often receive requests for religious texts as people in prison are looking to find hope and improve themselves. If you have books to donate, contact us at donations@booksthroughbars.org

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Thanks so much to the Philly Muslim Freedom Funs for their kind and generous book donation! We operate almost entirely on book donations from the community.

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Thanks so much to the group from @exelonofficial who volunteered with us! If you would like to bring a group to volunteer, reach out to us via the form on our website! (Link in bio)

A group of six people standing in the Books Through Bars library

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

and potentially meet like-minded individuals.” - Courtney, BTB volunteer

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

the impact that organizations like this can have. Through volunteering, I hope to have a small impact on and to maybe improve someone experiencing incarceration’s day, feel as though I’m doing something tangible to subvert the purely punitive motives of the PIC…

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

We asked our volunteers, what brings you to our work? “I have worked within the criminal justice system for years, and, formerly, directly with incarcerated members of my community as an indigent defense attorney. I miss that aspect of my work, and I have seen firsthand…

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Thanks so much to the students from Swathmore who volunteered with us a few weeks ago! If you are interested in bringing a group to volunteer, reach out via the form on our website!

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Books Through Bars Philly @booksthroughbars.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Thanks so much to the West Chester University Criminal Justice Student Association for volunteering with us! If you are interested in bringing a group to volunteer at Books Through Bars, complete the volunteer form on our website!

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