Libraries in Prison Housing Units

Freedom Reads is an effort to transform access to the world of books for the two million adults and children incarcerated in this country, placing life-changing literature within reach of every person doing time. At the centerpiece of Freedom Reads is the Freedom Library: the opening of dignifying library spaces in prison housing units across the country, granting daily access to 500 carefully chosen works of literature – to transport incarcerated readers to a world of ideas and possibility. Freedom Reads will build and place 18 libraries in prisons and juvenile facilities operated by the Connecticut Department of Correction. By improving conditions of confinement and by providing exposure to literature and opportunities for self-directed education and community-building in prison, individuals can gain access to and see new possibilities for their lives.