Throughout the month of November, Tucker’s newest bookstore Black Dog Books hosts its first annual Booksgiving, an initiative to donate books to incarcerated people.
Beginning Sunday, Nov. 1, customers can drop off books at Black Dog Books to donate to Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) libraries. GDC libraries provide books that inspire, educate, and broaden the perspectives of both prison staff and inmates. GDC libraries support academic and vocational education programs, which have been shown to reduce recidivism, and include a fully integrated Law Library for offender research of legal information.
According to prison literacy advocates and companies like the Prison Book Program, Corrections Bookstore, and SureShot Books Publishing, access to books while incarcerated encourages educational advancement, emotional and mental health support, and rehabilitation.
Books donated during Booksgiving must follow the GDC standards. Books cannot be spiral bound, in poor condition, written in or otherwise annotated. They cannot contain nudity or explicit sexual or violent content, and textbooks are also prohibited.
The most requested topics and genres include Westerns, mysteries, thrillers, self-help, graphic novels, instructional hobby and trade books, and new fiction by popular authors. Both paper and hardback books are accepted.
Black Dog Books opened in downtown Tucker in June. The independent bookstore is located at 2323 Main Street on the second floor. Donations can be placed in bins outside the front door during all hours of operation until Nov. 30. More information can be found on Black Dog Books’ website.
