Wisconsin Books to Prisoners’ Mission to Send Books to Prisoners is Restored by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections
(Madison, WI) Wisconsin Books to Prisoners (WBTP) is delighted to announce that our all-volunteer, nonprofit organization will once again be able to send books to individuals incarcerated at all prisons in Wisconsin as of November 1st, 2026.
In 2024, due to concerns that books could be used as a conduit for contraband, the WI Department of Corrections (WIDOC) rescinded a book policy which effectively barred free distributors of books from sending books to incarcerated individuals. Lengthy and fruitful negotiations between WIDOC and WBTP resulted in additional protocols to decrease the DOC’s concerns that WBTP could be exploited by bad actors. Prisoners are now required to request books only by subject matter or genre, not by title, and their letters must be noted by the prison librarian (or other designated employee) and cross-referenced with WBTP before shipment. This arrangement increases the DOC’s accountability and the expediency of the delivery of books to their intended recipient.
WI Books to Prisoners is committed to sustaining a productive relationship with the DOC and appreciates their acknowledgment of the value of reading and the opportunities for personal growth that books represent. In that the majority of books prisoners receive from WBTP are ultimately donated to their libraries, WBTP has provided roughly 70,000, much appreciated, current, and relevant material to prison libraries across the state.