Inside Books Project

I really love this organization. The work they do is so important, and the letters from inmates prove it. This is a great volunteer experience and you can really feel you’re making a difference.
BUT, the people who run it are incredibly rude, condescending, and unwelcoming to volunteers and never seem to recognize me, even though I’ve been here probably a dozen times.
Maybe it’s just me. I’m sorry that I come here straight from work, in my work clothes, and I’m not a dirty militant vegan. That doesn’t mean I don’t share an appreciation for what you’re doing. Why be rude to your volunteers? I don’t get it. The attitude should be more «thanks for being here» and less «why are you wearing deodorant, yuppie scum?»

I am amazed by what this place is able to do given the obvious lack of funding and support. They are able to provide up to 15,000 books per year to Texas prisoners. Many people believe that the prison system needs to be reworked but so few are doing something to solve the problem. Here is a group that actually works to help rehabilitate folks in prison by providing books free of charge to any Texas inmate who asks for it.

Texas leads the nation in incarcerated citizens. Texas doesn’t believe prisoners should be paid for their labor. Texas prisons and therefore their commodity are privatized profit. Texas continues, furthers and propagates the ongoing tragic stigma placed on American citizens who make mistakes and are imprisoned, dehumanizing them, revoking their rights and dignity, ignoring that everyone deserves second chances and the circumstances that they battled before being locked up. Inside Books Project does not stand with those views. IBP exercise empathy and compassion through a wonderful non profit effort driven by volunteers who donate books and are willing to write to inmates and flip the bill for the shipping and handling. Take part. Do it.

I absolutely love this place! I love volunteering here and I love what the project does! Very relaxed environment and great people to be around! If you’re looking for a place to volunteer I highly recommend this place! Please donate their cause with your time, books, stamps, and money!

What a great way to give back! Prisoners are often looked over and the system is debunked. What these volunteers do is truly amazing! I have learned so much about how terrible the prison system is and the lack of human rights these people suffer. Donating a few hours of my free time each week knowing that I am making a (small) difference is quite possibly the greatest feeling a person can ask for. The inmates are always so grateful no matter what they receive and you can almost hear the sincerity in their voice through the letters they send. The staff is so knowledgable and easy to talk to about any questions you have regarding the prison system, how it works, and what we can do to help. The atmosphere is so laid back and easy going it’s like you aren’t even volunteering. You come and go as you please… stay for an hour or 4.
It’s great to know that this is a TRUE non-​profit organization. They aren’t out to make a quick buck. They obviously care about what they do and it shows. I am so grateful to be afforded the opportunity to give my time.

I live in Virginia, but when I visit Austin I volunteer a few hours at Inside Books. A very friendly place, welcoming, with dedicated volunteers. It is very satisfying to see my pile of packaged books grow as the time passes, and I know they are going to people who will treasure them. This is a very worthwhile charity, one that is easy to support.

This is a really cool volunteer opportunity on the east side of Austin that provides free books and educational material to inmates incarcerated in Texas prisons. By donating books or volunteering your time to fill orders, you can help promote reading, literacy, and education in a population of people who don’t have a lot of options. Many of these people will get out of prison one day, and it’d be great to give them some knowledge and hope when they do.
IBP will accept your old books into their library. They maintain many bookshelves in their warehouse on East 12^th Street and use them to fill orders. On Thursday and Sunday nights, their facility is open to any volunteers that want to come in and help them fill book orders.
Volunteering at IBP is actually rather interesting work. There is a large stack of letters from prisoners. You pick up a letter, read it and determine what type of book the prisoner wants. Then you go into the bookshelves and find that type of book, package it up, write them a letter back, address it, and put in the mailing bin. A lot of prisoners will request educational material, novels, how-​to books, magazines, dictionaries (wtf?! who uses dictionaries any more?), or romance novels (presumably for wank-​off material, but I don’t judge).
What makes it interesting is the correspondence with the prisoners. Sometimes they will include pictures or drawings they’ve done in prison, or the occasional lonely or crazy one might send a love letter to the previous person who sent them books from IBP. One time, I had a guy request, «Mein Kampf or any white power literature», but I sent him some more enlightened history books instead. :) The crazy ones are few though, and most prisoners just want some educational material or a good book to keep their minds occupied. I’m glad to help.
It’s a pretty good way to spend a couple hours on a free night. They also don’t mind if you bring along snacks or a couple beers as you work. It’s a pretty laid back atmosphere, and you feel good about yourself after doing it. I would recommend it.

Inside Books is great. Good people doing good stuff. Don’t be intimidated and volunteer!

Love what this organization does for inmates in Texas. Volunteering here is a lot of fun and also a breeze. They have everything setup for you so you just need to pull a letter, find some books that match the request, write a letter back and stuff it all in an envelope. Makes a huge difference for those who are in need and sometimes forgotten. Anyone looking for a volunteering opportunity or community service should definitely swing by and rediscover the art of letter writing.

My favorite charity in Austin, nay, the world. These people do good work, helping out people who need it the most. I’ve spent many evenings stuffing envelopes and mailing packages to prisoners, so I know that just about every dollar the IBP gets goes to their mission, and their mission is essential. I think it means a lot to people who are getting the sharp end of society to know that people haven’t forgotten them.
If there was one charity that I would advise supporting, it is this one.

I had heard about this place, and been serviced by them a very long time ago. Now that we have things like personal computers and Facebook I keep myself connected to things that matter to me. Inside books project provides a very valuable service and I have just this year managed to find some time to go volunteer there and once I was even brave enough to take my three boys with me, they were able to play in the playroom while I was able to fill orders. I really enjoyed it and the time flies by when you are there! Glad to be part of something like this!

Love this place. My son’s high school requires community service hours at an Austin non-​profit organization, and we had heard about this, so we gave it a try.
Very friendly, laid back vibe.
No commitment — just show up at one of their work nights and work as long as you’re able to.
The work is interesting, especially if you’re a book lover.
You can jump right in — you’ll get a 5 – 10 minute orientation & you’re ready to go.
We go as often as we can and plan on continuing to volunteer there after his community service hours are completed.