A Connecticut-based nonprofit is partnering with two Chowchilla prisons to provide books to inmates.

On Wednesday, mobile libraries were installed by Freedom Reads at both Valley State Prison and Central California Women’s Facility, providing 500 books to each campus.

Books will be distributed via mini, portable libraries in Valley State Prison’s 17 housing units. The Women’s Facility will open up libraries in five of its housing units.

Bookshelves are made out of maple, walnut or cherry and are curved to contrast against the straight lines of bars in the prisons.

The selection of books were curated with suggestions from hundreds of poets, novelists, philosophers, teachers and more, the release stated. Books include contemporary works as well as classics from Homer’s The Odyssey to the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Former inmate Reginald Dwayne Betts founded Freedom Reads in 2021. Betts had been sentenced to nine years in prison when he was 16 years old.

“Far too often, the only thing that’s beautiful in a prison are the people,” said Betts, Founder and Executive Director of Freedom Reads. “With the opening of these libraries in VSP and CCWF we are bringing beauty, bringing books and bringing people inside to have the kinds of conversations we believe could help transform the lives of those incarcerated. We are thankful to share our goal of creating opportunities for daily engagement with literature inside their facilities.”

Last year, both prisons began offering bachelor’s degree programs through Fresno State.

Formerly Valley State Prison for Women, Valley State Prison is now an all-male, low-security prison.

Across the street from Valley State Prison, Central California Women’s Facility was built in 1990.