Updates from 2020-2022

Books Beyond Bars has been busy and we want to share with you what we’ve been up to, and what’s coming up for us!

Update on the status of our Library Program in the Women’s side of Burnside Correctional Facility

• Since March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our biweekly library program has been on hold. Prior to March 2020, two of our collective members would bring assorted books into the Women’s side of the Burnside jail for people inside to borrow. The program gave us a chance to chat with folks inside. People could make requests for specific books, and after each program, BBB would put out a call to the community to source the special requests.
• With the pandemic lockdowns in 2020, our regular library program was indefinitely suspended. In 2021, an arrangement for temporary book exchange following strict health and safety guidelines was made. A BBB member could drop off a smaller selection of books to the front desk of the jail and collect books to take back. The jail would put the books in the dayrooms for people inside to access. Under this arrangement, BBB members do not interact directly with folks inside, requests are not taken, and BBB has often been turned away during long and short periods of lockdown.
• During this time, we’ve continued to maintain our library in our rented storage locker and source books to fill gaps so that we can provide a variety of reading materials for our patrons. 
• Currently, Books Beyond Bars is in negotiations with the administration at the Burnside jail to reinstate our regular library program. We’re hoping to start up again in 2023, and we’re looking forward to seeing people inside face to face again!

Update on community events

• Thank you to everyone who contributed to our funding drive in th summer of 2021. Your donations help us pay for the rent on our small off-site library, and for the cost of supplies, public outreach events and administration. The “perks” related to the original campaign have all been claimed, but you can still donate here to help us with costs for our next year. We hope to offer more items as perks soon!
• In August 2020, we held a Prisoners’ Justice Day event outside the old Halifax library building, with a panel featuring formerly incarcerated community members discussing their experiences and their dreams for prison abolition.
• In 2021, for Prisoners’ Justice Day we partnered with Coverdale and North Pine Foundation to hold an event on the Halifax Common, with poetry, a panel and a memorial  to those lost over the years and those still feeling the effects of a traumatizing system. The focus of this event was on the connection between mental health and incarceration and the ways people choose to survive a system that is often anti-Black, anti-Indigenous and oppressive.
• For 2022 we took a step back from event organizing, and appreciated the community organizations that held events on Prisoners’ Justice day for those who want to learn more about abolition movements in Canada and remember those who have been affected.
• We released the audio of our 2018 Words Without Walls podcast episode created by Shaya Ishaq. Give it a listen!

Thank you to all our supporters who have helped make sure that we could offer support to our patrons on the inside from afar. It means that we’re able to start from a strong foundation as we rebuild our in-person program. We appreciate you!

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Update on programming

After a pause on programming due to COVID-19 restrictions, we started delivering a modified program to the women’s unit of Burnside jail in April 2021. Our programs had been suspended indefinitely since March 2020, which means folks have a strong need for library programs. We are excited to be working with people inside again!

Our drop-off locations are: Venus Envy (1598 Barrington St) and Alteregos (2193 Gottingen St). Please respect their COVID rules and support the local businesses that support us.

Call for applications: Books Beyond Bars Event Planner

Job opportunity: Event Planner (8 weeks)
Contract Dates: July 13 – September 4, 2020

Books Beyond Bars is looking to hire an Event Planner. The Event Planner will primarily be focussed on organizing a digital event for Prisoners Justice Day (August 10th). The successful applicant will work remotely (primarily from home) in the case that public spaces do not open up and that social distancing requirements remain in place.

Responsibilities

The successful applicant will be responsible for:

• • Organizing a virtual (online) Prisoners Justice Day event. Tasks to organize the event will include: 
    • • Researching and pitching possible speakers to BBB members 
      • Reaching out to prospective speakers
      • Coordinating with speakers 
      • Producing and following a budget for the event
      • Reaching out to diverse populations impacted by prisons 
      • Producing written materials
      • Researching online platforms to deliver the event
      • Planning activities
      • Ensuring accessibility of various needs of participants
      • Writing a small grant to cover some of the event costs
      • Promotion of the event on various social media platforms
        

As time allows, the successful applicant could also be engaged in:

• • Researching a community partnership program, such as a pen pal program, that would connect incarcerated women with members of the local community as penpals. This program would support incarcerated women experiencing isolation.
  • Engaging with advocacy/political outreach in line with BBB mandate
  • Conducting research on the Gladue report and assembling materials in order to create a comprehensive resource relevant for Nova Scotia that can be made publicly available (on the BBB website, for example) and shared with other partnering non-profits.

Qualifications

This position provides an opportunity both to gain experience working with an established prisoner justice collective and undertake more self-directed projects. The ideal candidate for this position will be interested in prisoner justice work and be comfortable working independently.

Experience with event planning and logistics would be considered a major asset.

People who have previously been incarcerated, or have other experiences in the justice system are encouraged to apply. Books Beyond Bars also encourages people from marginalized communities to apply, including people who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour, African Nova Scotian, disabled, two-spirit, queer, trans, or single parents. Applicants can identify in their cover letter.

Funding Requirements

This position is funded by the Canada Summer Jobs Program, therefore applicants must be:

• • Between 15 and 30 years of age (inclusive) at the start of employment;
  • A Canadian Citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act*; and
  • Legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial / territorial legislation and regulations.

*International students are not eligible. Recent immigrants are eligible if they are Canadian Citizens or permanent residents.

Term and Compensation

This is an 8 week term position, at $439.25 per week.

How To Apply

Email resume and cover letter to booksbeyondbars@gmail.com by July 5, 2020.

About Books Beyond Bars

Books Beyond Bars is a volunteer-run collective based in Halifax that goes into the women’s section of the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside twice monthly to improve access to books, writing, and literature to incarcerated women.

Since 2005 Books Beyond Bars has and continues to:

• • Distribute books and writing journals in a book exchange program,
  • Collect writing, artwork and poetry for a zine, and now a book, called Words Without Walls,
  • Offer a “Read Aloud” program in which we tape record women inside reading children’s books and then send the book and tape to their children outside,
  • Organize writing and poetry workshops, both at Burnside and the Nova Institute for Women in Truro.

Books Beyond Bars operates with the belief that the prison system is fundamentally flawed. Sending women to prison does not support people in dealing with the issues that led to their incarceration: poverty, abuse, racism, addiction, etc. We visit the women’s prisons in Nova Scotia to break down barriers between women who are caught in an unjust system and those of us on the outside involved with prison justice issues.

New way to donate: Amazon wish list

Do you love shopping on amazon? Do you find yourself searching for items prices $5-10 in order to get free shipping?

GREAT NEWS

We have an amazon wish list! We will update this list to reflect our request lists and most requested authors and items.

Items can be dropped off at any of our regular donation spots or shipped directly to our PO Box:

Books Beyond Bars
PO Box 33129
Halifax, NS
B3L 4T6

Note extended application date | Job posting: Prison Programming and Event Coordinator

Books Beyond Bars is seeking a temporary Programming and Event Coordinator based in the Halifax Regional Municipality to assist with our library programs and public outreach.

Books Beyond Bars is a volunteer-run collective based in Halifax that goes into the women’s section of the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside twice monthly to improve access to books, writing, and literature to incarcerated women.

Since 2005 Books Beyond Bars has and continues to:

• Distribute books and writing journals in a book exchange program,
• Collect writing, artwork and poetry for a zine, and now a book, called Words Without Walls,
• Offer a “Read Aloud” program in which we tape record women inside reading children’s books and then send the book and tape to their children outside,
• Organize writing and poetry workshops, both at Burnside and the Nova Institute for Women in Truro.

Books Beyond Bars operates with the belief that the prison system is fundamentally flawed. Sending women to prison does not support people in dealing with the issues that led to their incarceration: poverty, abuse, racism, addiction, etc. We visit the women’s prisons in Nova Scotia to break down barriers between women who are caught in an unjust system and those of us on the outside involved with prison justice issues.

Job Responsibilities

• Assist with organizing books and other materials in our Library, including re-shelving books, labelling books using our identification system, and tidying the space.
• Assist with packing books and book requests for our twice monthly library program.
• Post book requests from incarcerated women to social media, and help to coordinate donations.
• Work with members of the collective to organize a public event or project in support of Prisoner Justice Day (August 10, 2019).
• Coordinate planning and logistics for a book sale event including determining a date, coordinating book donations, promoting the sale, and creating a schedule for the day of.
• Participate in collective meetings, and provide input into programming and decisions.

Qualifications

This position provides an opportunity both to gain experience working with an established prisoner justice collective and undertake more self-directed projects. The ideal candidate for this position will be interested in prisoner justice work and be comfortable working independently.

Experience with event planning and logistics would be considered a major asset.

A valid driver’s licence would be an asset but not required.

People who have previously been incarcerated, or have other experiences in the justice system are encouraged to apply. Books Beyond Bars also encourages people from marginalized communities to apply, including people who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour, African Nova Scotian, disabled, two-spirit, queer, trans, or single parents. Applicants can identify in their cover letter.

Funding Requirements

This job is being offered through the Canada Summer Jobs program. Applicants must be between 15 and 30.

Term and Compensation

This is an approximately 8 week term position, at $404.25 per week.

How To Apply

Email resume and cover letter to booksbeyondbars@gmail.com by the updated deadline of June 10, 2019.

Urgent: Books Beyond Bars Needs Your Help!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we need to move our library from its current space to a new space by Friday, February 8th. This is all very short notice and there will be a huge amount of work involved in this move. In the next 10 days, we need to pack up our entire library and move it to a new space, or an interim temporary storage location. Our library has been in its current space for over a decade and is made up of thousands of books, from popular fiction and non-fiction to local authors and self-published works.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

• We need a new space to house our library. Preferably in peninsular Halifax or central Dartmouth. Ideally this space would be free or low cost to use and available for us to access any time.
• Sourcing sturdy moving boxes
• Help with packing and clearly labelling boxes of books at our current location on Gottingen street.
• Loading, moving, and unloading boxes to our new home or interim storage space

Please be in touch with us via email booksbeyondbars@gmail.com or send a message to us through our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BBBHFX/ with offers or help or any suggestions regarding a new space to house our library.  THANK YOU!

Thanks for making our book sale a success!

Thank you to everyone who donated books to our October book sale and bought books during the event. Our grand total was $2384.05, which is enough to cover our core library and Read Aloud program for a year. We are grateful for the support of our community, which allows us to run impactful programming on such a small budget.

Book sale fundraiser October 24-25th

We are having a book sale to raise funds to support Books Beyond Bars programming!

With the help of our supporters (thank you!) we have received enough donations from this summer’s book drive to be able to have a 2-day book sale in the community booth at Scotia Square mall, Wednesday, Oct 24th and Thurs Oct 25th, 9-5:00 pm.

We will have a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction, arranged into sections for easy shopping.

All funds raised from the book sale will be used for programming costs. Thank you for your support!

Call on Minister Furey to address prisoner demands

Books Beyond Bars would like to voice our solidarity with the prisoners who are currently on strike at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside. We have sent the following letter to Justice Minister Furey, and encourage you to write to him as well.

Dear Mr. Furey,

We, the members of Books Beyond Bars in Halifax, Nova Scotia, are writing to express our solidarity with prisoners at Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside who are peacefully protesting their unjust treatment.

We work with incarcerated people directly through our programming. We want to echo their demands for better health care, rehabilitation programs, exercise equipment, contact visits, personal clothing and shoes, nutritious food, improved air circulation, healthy items at the canteen, no limits to visits and access to the library. These services and resources are essential and urgent to the well-being of people in the carceral system.

In particular, through our work distributing books and journals in the women’s section of the Burnside prison, our members see first-hand how vital access to literature is to incarcerated people.

We also run a Read-Aloud program, which helps incarcerated mothers connect with their children through recorded stories. As important as this service is to our participants, we know that it is no substitute for contact visits. Denying contact visits is harmful not only to parents, but to their children, which has a ripple effect that harms entire communities.

We call on you to do everything in your power to address these conditions.

Sincerely,

The members of Books Beyond Bars

Submission on Justice Transformation

The Canadian government is doing a review of the justice system and is seeking submissions from Canadians. Submissions are due January 31, 2018. Books Beyond Bars is submitting the following letter. We encourage you to submit as well.

To: CJSR_RSJP@justice.gc.ca
Subject: Submission on Justice Transformation from Books Beyond Bars

Books Beyond Bars provides programming in the women’s section of the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility to improve access to books, writing, and literature for incarcerated women. Because we work closely with women who are incarcerated, we witness some of the effects of the current justice system on these women’s lives and the lives of the people they are connected to.

We believe that the prison system is fundamentally flawed, and does not address the systemic factors that lead to incarceration such as poverty, abuse, racism, and being criminalized for being someone who uses substances. Incarceration isolates people from their communities and families, damaging both. We believe that the prison system should be abolished and the justice systems should focus on finding ways to address conflict that are productive for communities, address the root causes of criminal behaviour, and support offenders in avoiding reoffending.

More immediately, we believe that measures need to be taken to improve conditions for incarcerated people such as eliminating solitary confinement, increasing programming to address trauma and addiction, and ensuring that transgender people’s identities are affirmed and respected.

Thank you for your consideration,
Books Beyond Bars