Inside Books Archive Exhibit at the PCL Scholars Commons

Inside Books Project (IBP) is books-to-prisons collective founded in Austin, TX in 1998. People incarcerated throughout Texas send requests for free literature, and volunteers respond with a package of books and personalized letter. In exchange, many incarcerated people have sent art, poetry, prose, and other narrative materials testifying to their experiences in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This ever-growing archive of materials is held at the Texas After Violence Project (TAVP) and a digital collection is in progress at insidebooksproject.omeka.net The IBP Archive Project is coordinated by aems emswiler, a student in the dual Information School (MSIS) and Women’s and Gender Studies (MA) programs at UT. aems has worked with IBP since 2012 and as an Archival Fellow at the Texas After Violence Project since 2017.

Interested in learning more about the archive project or possibly being involved? contact: aems@texasafterviolence.org. There are volunteer and internship opportunities for iSchool studies, in particular SAA-UT members, archives track students, and students who are invested in diversity, inclusion, and social justice in archives.

For more information on volunteering, donating books or postage funds to IBP: insidebooksproject.org or email insidebooksproject@gmail.com