In March 2011, Jim, our Executive Director, decided it was time for the POP Project to have its own blog presence. His idea was to write one post a week about something related to books, whether it be about literature, libraries, or a topic inspired...

I recently visited a handful of death row prisons in North Carolina and Virginia. I know there are better vacation options, including ones with more sun and bikinis and boats. But it was important for me to be there. Many inmates are starved for information....

I give books to inmates. I visit death row prisons. When either of these things comes up in conversation, people always ask, “Why?” For a long time, I didn’t really have a great answer. People either “get it” or they don’t. Preaching to the indoctrinated...