Here’s how people incarcerated in Iowa prisons access books

• Access to reading materials by incarcerated people is important for their future success.
• Prisons must balance the need for reading materials with security in the facilities.
• Books and other publications are available through prison libraries and via purchased tablets.
• Prisoners can buy books and other materials, but only from specific vendors.
• All reading materials are reviewed by Iowa prisons, and there are 11 reasons why they may be rejected.

Access to books and other publications is “crucial” for giving incarcerated people a chance at future success, library advocates say. But policies intended to keep prisons secure can restrict the materials available to them, either by controlling which content is allowed, or how books must enter facilities.

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Balancing the need for security with the right prisoners have to freely access information is a difficult task, but one that should involve greater public discussion, according to Sam Helmick, community and access services coordinator for the Iowa City Public Library and the past president of the Iowa Library Association.

“It's difficult for me to suggest that any form of literature is safer or unsafer, because that’s sort of suggesting that ideas are not neutral until they're applied. But I do think that we would do well to have a more public and transparent discourse on that, so that society and the community can arrive at those conclusions,” Helmick said. “Whether you're a prisoner, or a client, or an inmate, or you're a free public citizen, you have a right to expect access to information as an American.”

The American Library Association, in its Library Bill of Rights, states that there is “a compelling public interest in the preservation of intellectual freedom” for people in jails, prisons and other detention facilities.

“Information and ideas available outside the prison are essential to people who are incarcerated for a successful transition to freedom,” the ALA states on its website.

In Iowa, access to books among prisoners comes with rules. Here’s how people who are incarcerated access books in prison, which books are allowed, and who decides those restrictions.

Prisons allow access to libraries, eBooks

All Iowa prisons have a library, but Sarah Fineran, research director for the Iowa Department of Corrections, couldn’t provide an estimate of the number or kinds of books available in each library. Depending on an inmate’s privileges, they may be able to check out a book and take it back to their cell, but some inmates can only read books in the library.

Inmates can request books be ordered for the prison library, but any books ordered for the library must go through a review process.

Inmates also can access about 51,000 free eBooks from Project Gutenberg if they have a tablet. The tablets must be purchased through Iowa Prison Industries and cost $150, so not all prisoners have one.

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Iowa inmates can purchase books through approved vendors

People incarcerated in Iowa prisons can purchase books, but they must use two approved book vendors.

In 2021, the Iowa Department of Corrections changed its policy to admit only books purchased from Books N Things Warehouse Inc., in New Jersey, and Hamilton Book LLC, in Connecticut. A DOC spokesperson at the time told Iowa Public Radio the change was being made to prevent contraband from being smuggled into prisons through books.

Prisoners can order the books themselves, or they can ask a friend or family member to order a book from one of the vendors and have it sent to them.

Even then, before a book makes it into an incarcerated person’s hands, it must go through a process of review.

How do Iowa prisons decide which books to deny?

Fineran said books and other publications — including magazines and newspapers — that arrive at Iowa prisons are subject to review. While none are “banned,” she said they can be “denied for institutional security operations reasons.”

Each prison has its own procedures for internal review, which must align with the 11 rules established by the DOC that govern what is allowed. If prison staff believe the material violates a rule, the publication is sent to a three-person committee for further review.

A book under review is sent to one member of the committee who represents DOC operations. If that person approves the book, it’s approved. If they deny the book, it’s sent to a second DOC representative on the committee. If the second member agrees with the first person’s decision, the book is denied.

The third committee member — who DOC policy states should have “broad exposure to various publications” — is only involved in the process if the first and second committee members disagree. In that case, the third member makes a final decision on the publication.

Once a book or other publication has been denied, it remains on the department’s list for five years, during which time it is automatically denied if it arrives at an Iowa prison.

Prison staff and prisoners themselves can appeal if they disagree with a decision to approve or deny a book or other publication.

DOC declined to release the names of the three people who currently serve on the publications review committee. Fineran said the current committee members have been on the committee for “various time frames ranging from eight to 15 years.”

Reasons books can be denied in Iowa prisons

A book can be denied by the Iowa Department of Corrections if it

1. Is likely to be disruptive or produce violence

2. Contains materials which portrays a minor engaged in or simulating any act that is sexual in nature or any nudity of a minor

3. Contains information relating to escapes or formulating escape plans

4. Contains information relating to provoking a riot or disturbance

5. Contains information relating to obtaining an emotional or behavioral state comparable to those produced by a controlled substance, by using aerosols, glue, or other chemical materials

6. Contains materials that compromise the security of the institution, such as: materials which illustrate, explain, describe, or teach martial arts, or other manufacture of weapons or explosives; material which advocates behavior contrary to duly established institutional rules or Iowa statutes; materials which illustrate, explain, describe, or teach ability to frustrate crowd or riot control methods; materials which illustrate, explain, describe, or teach ability to sabotage or disrupt communications networks including internal and external communications and automated information systems; materials which illustrate, explain, describe, or teach ability to manipulate in any form or fashion locking devices, security restrains or equipment, etc

7. Contains information concerning criminal activities

8. Contains encoded material. This shall not automatically include foreign language publications not otherwise prohibited

9. May violate postal regulations, such as threats, blackmail, contraband, or similar violations

10. Contains any pictorial depiction where male or female genitalia are exposed, including female breasts that display the areola or nipple, or portrayal or simulation of fellatio, cunnilingus, masturbation, ejaculation, sexual intercourse, male erection, bestiality, sadomasochism, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of genitals clothed or unclothed, or other sexually explicit or nude materials

11. Is a pamphlet, catalog or other publication whose purpose is primarily or significantly to sell items or materials that are expressly prohibited inside any of the IDOC institutions. The Warden can make exceptions for materials that serve reentry efforts.

Which books are allowed in prison? Which have been denied?

Many of the books that are sent to the three-person committee are approved. Examples of books that have been reviewed and approved include “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L James, and “Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer” by Hugh Aynesworth.

The majority of publications that are currently on the DOC’s automatic denial list were rejected based on rules that relate to nudity and sexual content, or another rule that relates to topics that could compromise the security of the prison.

Examples of books that have been denied include “Tears of the Silenced - An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival,” by Misty Griffin, and “How to Jiu Jitsu For Beginners,” by Nathan DeMetz.

What happens when a book is denied?

According to DOC policy, after a book is denied, an inmate has 10 days to decide whether to have it destroyed or send it somewhere else, with shipping costs charged to the inmate.

Inmates, or the person who ordered a book for them, can receive a refund of the original cost of the book if they choose to send it back to the vendor, but the inmate still has to pay the cost of return shipping.

Access to books in county jails differs

Policies about books in jails vary from county to county in Iowa, but many are less restrictive than state prisons.

At the Linn County Jail in Cedar Rapids, Sheriff Brian Gardner said books are not denied based on content, but they do have to come from a “legitimate retailer.”

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Books and other publications mailed to the Johnson County Jail in Iowa City have to come directly from the publisher or a bookstore as well, and they can be restricted if they have “nudity or offensive and graphic material,” Alissa Schuerer, the public information officer for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, said.

Inmates in the Johnson County Jail can also request up to five books from the Iowa City Public Library, and they are delivered once a week.

Helmick works with the Iowa City Library to deliver books to the Johnson County Jail, and has worked at multiple libraries in Iowa that provide books to county jails. They said access to books is important for people who are incarcerated, because reading can prepare them to successfully reenter society.

“Literacy is a level-up. Folks who have been placed into the criminal justice system — and will, most likely, have a permanent record — will face additional barriers when it comes to educational access and employment access. So, providing literacy and information ... is crucial,” Helmick said.

Bookseller treats prisoners ‘like any other customer’

Richard Hamilton owns Hamilton Books, one of the two approved book vendors for Iowa prisons. He said he doesn’t believe that prisoners’ access to books should be restricted.

While Hamilton Books is an approved vendor for corrections departments in multiple states, Hamilton said the company didn’t seek that designation and doesn’t have a contract with any state department of corrections, including Iowa. He believes the company is often chosen by prison systems because — unlike many companies — Hamilton Books still prints a paper catalog and accepts paper checks. That makes it easier for inmates, who have limited access to the internet, to order books.

In 2023, Hamilton Books sent an estimated 1,696 books to Iowa inmates, in about 866 orders. Hamilton said the data was gathered by searching for Iowa prisons in the address lines of orders, but cautioned that it may not be entirely accurate. The company does not track data about prison book orders.

Books N Things Warehouse, the other approved vendor for Iowa prisons, was not able to provide a similar statistic.

“We as a company support the right of every American, incarcerated or not, to buy and read the materials that they see fit, from whom they see fit, and ... we abhor censorship,” Hamilton told The Gazette in an email.

“Ed, my uncle and the former owner, was selling books to inmates before I was alive,” Hamilton said. “We have always, and will always, treat them like any other customer as much as possible, even though they can represent some unique challenges.”

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com