“We have listened to inmates and their families and friends and to publication organizations and we have developed what we believe is a fair procedure that balances our need for security with the inmates’ access to books,” Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said. “This policy update allows inmates to have direct contact with book donation organizations through a security processing center and ensures that publications will not be used as a path by which drugs are
introduced into our facilities.”
The updated policy includes the following provisions:
• Book donation organizations will continue to send donated books to individual inmates
as they have done in the past.
• Family and friends may purchase publications through an “original source,” which
includes publishers, bookstores and online distributors.
• Inmates may order publications through catalogs.
• Inmates with tablets may choose to purchase eBooks. The number of eBooks will
continue to expand based on input by inmates and the DOC will continue to look for free
eBook offerings.
• Prison libraries will continue to offer thousands of titles and expand their offerings based
on inmate requests.
The new inmate book policy requires publications (defined as books and magazines) to be sent
to the DOC’s new Security Processing Center (SPC), at this mailing address:
Security Processing Center
Inmate name, Inmate #
268 Bricker Road
Bellefonte, PA 16823
At the SPC, which will operate five days a week, DOC security staff will conduct thoroughsecurity screenings of all incoming publications. After publications clear the SPC, they will be sent to the mailroom at the prison where the inmate is located. From there, books and publications will be delivered to inmates.
Newspaper subscriptions will continue to be processed at the individual SCIs.
The DOC will notify publication companies and book donation groups of the new SPC mailing address. Family and friends of inmates cannot send publications directly to inmates and must work with original source book providers or sellers. Books will only be delivered via book vendors and book donation groups.
Facilities receiving publications that are addressed to a specific state prison
