Since March of this year, an abundance of online public library programs and outreach efforts have been established to ensure remote access to library collections. Internet access is still not universal and thousands of people in New York City are unable to access these resources in a time of crisis.

To confront this, PLSN and a team of library workers from all five boroughs are working to build outreach collections that secure equitable access to books for everyone, including those in shelters or transitional housing, and who are currently or formerly incarcerated. 

That’s where you come in!

Donations to this fundraiser will allow NYC public library workers to acquire books, shelving, and other supplies necessary to build and maintain book collections in New York City shelters and jails. Our goal is to make sure all New Yorkers have a way to read library books that they want to read regardless of their housing status or interaction with the criminal justice system.

We have set our giving levels to reflect what your money will be able to purchase for this project, but they are only a suggestion. Every donation, no matter how small, will help us reach our goal.

If you’d like to make a donation in someone's name to give as a gift this holiday season, please take a screenshot of your donation and send it to plsn_nyc@protonmail.com and we will send you a certificate you can share (making a donation in someone’s name is like giving a gift twice!).

Spread the word about our fundraiser by telling your friends, comrades, and family, and by sharing this campaign on social media!

The Prison Library Support Network (PLSN) is an information-based collective founded in 2016 to support incarcerated people by organizing networks for sharing resources and building community around prison abolition in libraries, archives, and other knowledge-based institutions.

Pre-pandemic, we held Reference Letter events that responded to 250 research questions from incarcerated folks, created a Google-free workflow for a library's jail and prison library services to protect patron privacy. Our Book Donation Drives brought in over 1,000 books to help supplement correctional facility libraries, and we set up the Volunteer Reference Project, which allows NYC jail and prison library workers to call on a network of information professionals to respond to the questions they receive while working inside facilities. In recognition of this work, we were the winner of the 2020 Special Libraries Association's Spotlight Award for Organizations.