DONATING FUNDS
Providence Books Through Bars appreciates donations of any amount – Thank You!
We work diligently to minimize our expenses; almost all of our books are donated, as is the space we use. There are some minor administrative costs such as the hosting and maintenance of this website, but almost all of our funds go to putting books in the hands of incarcerated people. Packing materials are one expense, but by far the largest is postage. Most of our shipments are in the two to three pound range, and it costs $5.61 to send such a package by media mail.
We accept PayPal or credit cards for donations; please use the “Donate” button below. We gladly accept donations by check: please make payable to “Providence Books Through Bars,” and mail to 65 University Avenue, Providence, RI 02906.
Thank you, in advance, for your donation. All donations to Providence Books Through Bars are fully tax deductible.
Donate via PayPal
DONATING BOOKS
Thanks for thinking of us!
Below are the most frequently requested types of books, and categories where we are short. We are limiting our stock to paperbacks (they are much cheaper to mail than hardcovers, and many prisons don’t accept HC books). Please no books with water damage, stains, extensive writing or that are in otherwise poor condition (such items are often refused by prisons). Please also no spiral-bound books (they are almost never accepted), CDs or non-book items. Our most needed categories of books are in bold at the top of the list.
- How-to-draw, cartooning, adult coloring
- Conspiracies, aliens and paranormal
- Westerns (paperback only)
- Graphic novels, manga, comics
- How to start a business (recent books, please)
- Games (especially chess, crosswords, Sudoku and puzzles)
- Self-help & inspirational
- LGBTQ
- Mysteries, thrillers, best-sellers, horror & suspense novels (paperback only)
- Basic books on grammar & writing (paperback)
- How-to for the trades (carpentry, etc.)
- Native American (history, culture and novels)
- Mexican/Mayan (history, culture and novels)
- Living off the grid and survival
- Science (especially biology, astronomy, anatomy)
- Exercise/fitness
- Paranormal fiction (vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters)
- Wicca, supernatural, dreams
- Meditation & yoga
- Poetry anthologies
- Mythology (especially Norse, Viking and Egyptian)
- Travel/places/cultures (paperback with pictures)
- Legal self-help of relevance to incarcerated people
- Sci-Fi and fantasy
- Reference: dictionaries, almanacs, sign language, thesaurus, Spanish-English and other language dictionaries (paperback)
