From Vogue.com: Liberation Library is Pushing for Prison Abolition, One Book at a Time.
Amid protests for racial equality and police reform, many Americans have called for the dismantling of systemically racist structures within our society. For some, that work begins with defunding (or abolishing) the police and other forces behind the largest private-prison population in the world and investing in community-led solutions instead. Liberation Library, a nonprofit organization that sends books to incarcerated youth in Illinois, is one group behind that effort. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, more than 48,000 people under the age of 18 are currently incarcerated, their facilities varying from detention centers to adult prisons and jails, long-term secure facilities, and juvenile prisons. Recently, a Twitter post from Liberation Library sharing a letter from one of their readers—and outlining ways to join their mission and invest in prison abolition—went viral.
From Next City: This Chicago Nonprofit Supports Incarcerated Youth and Local Businesses During the Pandemic
In Illinois, roughly 500 youth are in prison or jail. Over the years, Chicago nonprofit organization Liberation Library has been providing books to those young people, sending hundreds of books yearly to incarcerated youth in six county jails and five juvenile prisons. After COVID-19 struck, the nonprofit has doubled the number of books it sends to youth — and has switched to buying them locally.
From KultureHub: Liberation Library lets incarcerated youth explore other worlds in books
Youths in prison may be the last thing on many people’s minds, but at Liberation Library, they’re at the forefront of its mission. Liberation Library is a Chicago-based volunteer-led prison abolitionist organization dedicated to providing books to incarcerated youth. To them, access to literature is a right, not a privilege. We spoke to the volunteers at Liberation Library, and collectively, they gave us responses about their efforts. Let’s take a look at the story and mission of Liberation Library.
From Block Club Chicago: Liberation Library, Which Sends Books to Incarcerated Children, Goes Viral With Child's Thank-You Letter
When Liberation Library went viral this month, it was because it received a letter from an unusual author: a child in a prison who was grateful to receive books to read. [...] “People [on social media] were really shocked that we incarcerate children in this country, and rightfully so,” said Lucy Geglio, a member of Liberation Library’s steering committee. “This organization is … an accessible onramp for someone to feel that horror that a child would be locked in prison, and also acknowledge and discuss, ‘Well, why is anyone in prison?’”