The Minnesota Department of Corrections sent out a memo in October that limited purchases to Hamilton Books, HarperCollins, and Penguin Random House. Last month, Mcmillan, Simon & Schuster and Hachette Book Group were on the list of approved vendors.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble purchases, however, are not allowed.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” said Brandy Earthman, describing her reaction when she learned of the change. “Why do we need to have certain vendor lists to go and get books? And certain books, a lot of books, that mostly people read while incarcerated, they can’t get them, even through the vendor list.”

She explained the restrictions make it hard for her loved ones at Rush City to get the content they need, including for worship. Reading verses from religious texts can help incarcerated individuals through hard times, according to Earthman.

“It gives them some type of hope, some type of daily motivation to get up every day and to get through their day,” she said. “They’re struggling because they don’t have their books.”

She added, “We’re trying to figure out ways to get the Qur’an through these new vendor lists, and it’s been very hard.”

Prison Book Program Executive Director Kelly Brotzman joined other non-profits in writing a letter to the DOC this week expressing concerns about the restrictions, including the higher cost associated with purchasing books directly through the publisher.

“The impact is going to be basically to make it extremely difficult for people to get books,” she said. “And when you do that, you’re taking away one of the best things people can do when they’re incarcerated, which is read.”

Her organization provides free books to incarcerated people across the country. Texts about health and wellness, trauma, nutrition, fitness, recovery, and language studies are among the top requests.

“One of the niche items we get asked for a lot is the study guide for the commercial driving license exam, people are thinking about their realistic options when they get released,” she said. “A lot of people are engaged in their own casework. I don’t want to leave out the fact that books are a vital lifeline to their legal futures as well.”

She explained under the current restrictions, her organization cannot provide Minnesota inmates free books. In the letter, she encourages the DOC to allow incarcerated adults to receive free books from non-profits.

“Real physical books mean more to incarcerated people than you and I can often understand,” said Brotzman. “Books are really what I would call a lifeline for a lot of incarcerated people.”

A spokesperson for the DOC sent a statement that said, “Out of concern over the integrity of materials coming into the state’s correctional facilities, the Department of Corrections implemented a policy requiring book purchases to come directly from certain vendors. The department sought to restrict purchasing to those suppliers that do not permit published materials to be shipped to a community buyer and then allow the community buyer to send it back to the vendor for re-shipment to a correctional facility.

As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we’ve reviewed the impact of this policy and the importance of ensuring access to a wide range of publications for the incarcerated population. Next week, the DOC will issue an updated book ordering procedure that provides access to a broad range of published materials while providing a safe and secure environment for our staff and the people we serve. 

The DOC is committed to creating partnerships with community-based organizations interested in donating books to correctional facility libraries.”