2009 Book Drive 

Book Donations for a Member-Selected Charity 

As part of the holiday festivities at the SLA Philadelphia Holiday Party, a worthy charity is selected to receive book donations from SLA members. 

The selected charity for this year's book drive is Books Through Bars.

West Philadelphia-based Books Through Bars (BTB) was established to address the paucity of educational resources available to prisoners who hope to use the time of their imprisonment to effect positive change in their lives.  The organization’s web site provides additional information about the group’s mission and programs.

BTB is looking for books on specific subjects, in good condition, used or new, to fulfill their mission. They also have a need for brown paper bags (grocery bags). The group uses these bags to mail reading material in an effort to save money.  The group accepts hardback books but much prefers paperbacks, as some prisons completely prohibit the prisoners from receiving hardback books. 

Books Beyond Bars cannot use fiction in hardback, out-of-date texts or reference books, or any books that are very old or in poor condition. Please note that this year our book donations should not be gift wrapped. 

Here is a list of the most-prized types of books, but paperback fiction and non-fiction of all types are acceptable.

• Dictionaries
• GED and ESL study guides
• High school textbooks (all subjects)
• College textbooks (intro level)
• African and African American history and fiction
• Mexican and Puerto Rican history and fiction
• Books in Spanish
• Drug and alcohol addiction recovery
• Spirituality, yoga and meditation
• Urban novels
• Thrillers & mysteries

BTB’s web site:

http://www.booksthroughbars.org

Address:

4722  Baltimore Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19143

215-727-8170

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