Please excuse any cross-posting. From Jeanie Austin.
This year's Prison Banned Books Week, happening from September 15th-21st, will focus on the rise of tablets inside. While tablets offer unprecedented access to loved ones and outside allies, they have also been used to curtail paper literature. Additionally, content on tablets is highly limited–with titles largely in the public domain, published in the nineteenth century. Accessing the content is costly, despite that, companies acquire these titles for free. We are calling for public library catalogs to be made available on carceral tablets. Library content is for community use and detained and incarcerated people are part of our communities.
There are 50 available. Unfortunately, we cannot fulfill requests in excess of 50. Please be sure you will be able to use the display before you order. The generous funder for this initiative will be announced in September.
Please feel free to use this listserv to share any events that you plan for Prison Banned Books Week at your libraries or other organizations. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness and advocate for improved access to books and information for incarcerated people. Thanks, Moira and PEN!
All Best,