This issue of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy includes two news stories about book restrictions and bans in jails. In Pennsylvania, a county jail initiated a policy banning individuals who are incarcerated from purchasing books from retailers that were previously allowed. Inmates only had access to a limited list of titles through the jail’s tablet program, which charged per minute and had time restrictions. (More information can be found on page 3.) In Arkansas, a local sheriff’s office removed all reading material other than the Bible and other printed religious material from the county jail, indicating that the removal was because of inmates damaging and destroying books. Requested public records showed no documentation of this destruction. (More information can be found on page 13.)
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