Nonprofits can no longer donate books to Washington prisoners

Advocates of prison-reading programs notched a win when the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections reversed its ban on book donations last year.

But now they need to take their fight across the country, over to the West Coast.

BookRiot reports that Seattle-based Books to Prisoners was recently surprised by the news that the Washington State Department of Corrections no longer allows nonprofits to donate books.

The department said it lacked enough staff to inspect donated books and make sure they didn’t contain contraband materials.

Books to Prisoners, of course, tweeted that it was prepared to challenge the ban.

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