Imagine yourself a prisoner, convicted of felonies, serving hard time in a state prison. Imagine you are a person who likes to read – it’s the best way you’ve found to take your mind away from your surroundings and pass the time pleasantly. But there’s a problem — you’ve read most of the books in the small prison library.

“What happens when we get locked down for hours or days and I’ve got nothing to read?” you ask yourself.

Then, imagine the joy you feel when you see a notice on the library bulletin board from a faraway organization called “the Rogue Liberation Library,” with an offer to send you a package of several books. All you have to do is write the RLL a letter describing what kinds of books you like, and your prison address and books will be on the way as soon as RLL can get them there.

The even greater joy of actually receiving the books often inspires inmates to write thank-you letters to the RLL, at Peace House, like this excerpt from a letter written by an inmate at a prison in Texas: “I thank God for the books to prisoners program because they helped me take my mind away from the stressful things that are going on; when I read I’m really into these books, thanks to all the volunteers.”

The Rogue Liberation Library is a program of Peace House that got its start in 2018. RLL was the brainchild of a man named Kai Safran, who knew from an incarcerated friend how much inmates value books. He started sending books on his own and realized that if the program was to grow it needed the sponsorship of an established nonprofit and Peace House fit the bill. Peace House had space for bookshelves for the books and an executive director and an office manager to provide oversight and financial support. Safran is no longer with the program, but RLL is still going strong.

“Peace House has served as an incubator for new and innovative projects,” Elizabeth Hallett, the executive director of Peace House says. “We’ve been very impressed by the RLL because it just took off and became quite a success, mostly because of its fabulous group of volunteers.”

Today, the all-volunteer program is co-facilitated by Cooper Dean, one of Safran’s first volunteers, and by Ann Magill, a retired librarian, who has been volunteering for three years. They head a team of eight volunteers who meet three times a month to read the inmates’ letters, find the books, and package and prepare them to be mailed. The ever-increasing cost of postage is one of the barriers the program faces as it depends totally on donations from the public and Peace House. Volunteers also rely on Friends of Libraries groups and credit from local bookstores.

“RLL has an eager and energetic team of volunteers,” Ann Magill says. “Like those incarcerated folks who write to request reading material, we all love to read and find information. It is rewarding to read the letters from those behind bars who gain freedom and hope through these connections. Providing learning and recreational opportunities through books is also one of the best ways to reduce recidivism.”

Last year (2024) RLL shipped a total of 2,024 packages containing an average of three books per package for a total of about 6,072 books to inmates in state and federal prisons in several states. Because of the rise in postage and supplies, the number of packages has dropped off the last two years from the high water mark of 2022 when RLL shipped 2,924 packages with about 8,772 books because of the rise in postage and materials. The increased cost has caused a backlog of letters from prisoners, but once read, they are processed immediately.

If you would like to help the RLL send more books to prisoners, there are three main ways to contribute:

Drop off new or lightly used paperback books (no written notes or highlighting on pages) in the green donation bin on the front porch of the Peace House office on the lower level of the property at 543 S. Mountain Ave., Ashland.

Make a donation to the RLL by going to https://peacehouse.net/ and clicking on the Donate button. You can write a Comment and ask that your donation go to the RLL.

Send a check made out to Peace House with RLL in the memo line to P.O. Box 524, Ashland, OR 97520