Books Beyond Bars at UCLA

Books Beyond Bars was founded to provide high-interest books to the young people incarcerated at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Detention Center. Through book drives, book talks, and creative workshops, we have created a space for teenagers at BJN to share their thoughts, be creative, and read books they are interested in. Our organization serves as a platform for library students to gain valuable experience working with book distributors, curating reading lists, and in community engagement and outreach. Books Beyond Bars is committed to offering consistent support and access to high-quality books to incarcerated people. We collaborate with other organizations that provide resources and education in prisons. Recognizing that prisons are a form of censorship, Books Beyond Bars is committed to an abolitionist future, in which everyone has free and equitable access to information and education. While our expertise lies in information access, we actively support existing efforts to advocate alongside incarcerated people for the abolition of prisons.

booksbeyondbarsatucla@gmail.com

Signatories: Talor Wald, Anna Robinson-Sweet, and Thomas Alexander

Advisor: Pamela R Cysner