Since 2006, the Wisconsin Books to Prisoner’s Project (WBTP) has sent books to thousands of state and federal prisoners within the state of Wisconsin and beyond, reminding us that literature plays a key role in personal development of any kind, anywhere.

The Troubling Truth

We spoke to John, a volunteer for the WBTP, who brought some shocking facts to our attention.

“Wisconsin prison libraries are inadequate, usually with month-long or longer waiting lists for prisoners to check out a book,” John told Bulk Bookstore. “Before this project, inmates had to apply to get books shipped in from out of state - just to get a book to read.”

Not knowing this before, our team was truly shaken to hear how difficult it is for inmates to acquire something as basic as a book – something many of us take for granted.

Here at the Bulk Bookstore, we recognize the positive impact that literature and literacy have on a person’s life, and we are ecstatic to be providing books in bulk to an organization like the WBTP.

Dictionaries Make a Difference

This leads us to the question: what do inmates want to read? According to John, the answer is simple.

“Dictionaries are our most requested book, and the book we buy the most in bulk,” he explained. “Inmates keep dictionaries in their cells to improve their reading ability and vocabulary so that they can go on to read other, more challenging books. They’re an extremely helpful tool, in general.”

Unfortunately, the quality of the dictionaries available to these inmates are often disappointing – either outdated or falling apart. “What we need most are large numbers of quality dictionaries – collegiate dictionaries,” John said.

He continues: “Reading is a human right. Everyone should have the right to read.” We couldn’t agree more!

Why Bulk Bookstore?

With as many as 20,000 inmates in the state of Wisconsin alone, the WBTP needed to find a bulk book provider with large quantities of quality reading material always in stock, ready to be shipped.

“We get close to 40-50 requests per week for reading material, and we try to fulfill as many as we can,” John stated.

When asked why they chose to go with Bulk Bookstore, John had this to say: “We go through a lot of dictionaries, so we’re always needing to order more. We’ve ordered from other places before, but this has been the most affordable rate that we could find for the quality of dictionary that we need.”

On the WBTP website, it explains, “We believe that books are tools for learning and can help open minds to new and fresh possibilities. By sending books to those in prison, we hope to foster a love of reading, and encourage the pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement.”

We would like to thank John and the Wisconsin Books to Prisoner’s Project for all that they do for these inmates! If you would like to learn more about the WBTP and how you can help, click here.