Broome County’s incarcerated populations are finding a literary escape from the walls of prison.

The initiative is being undertaken by Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier (JUST), a local community group that aims to dismantle mass incarceration in Broome County and provide aid and support for the imprisoned. Over the past year, JUST has been donating inmates’ preferred books through the organization of both book and donation drives through the JUST Book a Month Club. The success of these drives has made JUST able to donate one book per month to eligible inmates in Broome County. The fundraiser has provided nearly 500 books this year, at a cost of up to $15 per book.

Bill Martin, a coordinator and co-founder of JUST as well as a Bartle professor of sociology, gave a brief history of the program’s creation.

“Family members or others cannot mail in books of their own to persons inside, books must come from a bookstore (e.g. Amazon, ThriftBooks),” Martin wrote in an email. “Persons are often incarcerated for years, and many are desperate given the almost complete lack of educational or training programs (as provided thinly in state prisons; indeed many women locked in for years during [COVID-19] protested this at length). At times in years past individual JUST members would send in a book or two, but this wasn’t systematic or available to all. A little over a year ago, we moved to create a regular program where we send in any person who requests the book of their choice.”

Victoria Delaney, Ph.D. ’19, and the JUST Book a Month Club coordinator, detailed the process of obtaining books and collecting donations.

“I have ordered mostly from Amazon, though ThriftBooks has also been used,” Delaney wrote in an email. “We were fundraising in general when we received a large donation from a church that requested their donation be specifically designated toward books, which resulted in a book drive during the holidays. We received generous donations from all over the Binghamton/Broome [County] area and beyond. From religious institutions to academics to students, all agreed on the importance of reading while trapped in a jail cell.”

Delaney also highlighted how groups of incarcerated individuals come together to create orders and indicated the wide range of literature that those on the inside request from the JUST Book a Month Club. These requested texts range from trade books to Japanese mangas to full-fledged novels.

Letters sent to JUST from participating incarcerated men, provided by Delaney, highlighted a sense of both gratitude as well as intellectual growth from the texts provided to them.

“I don’t know if I’ve thanked you, but I’m very [appreciative] of all the work you and the others have done, and do, to help us inmates out,” one anonymous inmate wrote. “I also wanna tell you, those that get the books in here also are very thankful.”

Along with the inmates, some Binghamton University students shared their thoughts the book drive and the impact it might have.

Sara Madsen, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, viewed the entertainment value of these books for the incarcerated as a positive.

“I believe that the book drive is a very good thing for those prisoners,” Madsen wrote. “[Not] only are books a great form of entertainment while they serve out their sentence, but it promotes better literary skills for their life outside of prison. Books and stories will help to provide a sense of normalcy while they’re in prison and a bit of escapism through the stories and books they read.”

Andrew Scott, a sophomore majoring in political science, saw the potential for rehabilitation through the texts.

“I think the JUST program and their book drive for prisoners is a benefit,” Scott wrote. “The criminal justice system being [focused] on punishment rather than rehabilitation [means] prisoners are not prepared for life after incarceration. The JUST program providing books gives a chance for prisoners. Also, reading can give prisoners a chance for a recreational activity that may not be provided by the prison.”

Regardless of the reception, Delaney hopes to build on JUST’s momentum and receive more generosity from the community.

“We are now in the midst of a new book drive for 2022,” Delaney wrote. “We are hoping for similar generosity, so we can continue this important initiative.”