INMATEAID EDITORIAL ARTICLE
Schema: Article + FAQPage
Internal links: Pennsylvania inmate search, send money, visitation, Staying Connected hub, Pennsylvania reentry resources
=> IMPORTANT: the OLD 2018-2020 fund-the-account "DOC orders the book" model is OUTDATED/superseded. CURRENT model = families order from original-source vendors and ship to the Security Processing Center (SPC).
NOTE: Governing = PA DOC, DC-ADM 803 "Inmate Mail and Incoming Publications" (eff. 8/10/2020) + current pa.gov mail-rules + send-mail pages. ID = inmate number. DEFINING ANGLE = TWO-ADDRESS SPLIT (two different states): (1) General correspondence + photos -> Smart Communications/PA DOC, [name/number], [SCI], PO Box 33028, St. Petersburg FL 33733 (scanned/printed; can abbreviate "Smart Comm"; photos <=25/mailing, originals destroyed after 45 days). (2) PUBLICATIONS + photo books -> Security Processing Center (SPC): [name, number], 268 Bricker Road, Bellefonte PA 16823-1667. (3) Official/original docs + legal mail -> facility directly. SPC tracking: spc.cor.pa.gov/spcui/home. Accepted at SPC: new + donated books, calendars (incl customized), photo books, magazines, book catalogues, printed religious literature*, donated library books (w/ librarian approval), books for staff, correspondence course materials. *Religious Articles Catalog items must be ordered BY INMATES, shipped to facility directly; family may NOT order religious items. Publication Denial List (xlsx on pa.gov) -> CHECK BEFORE ORDERING. Photo books: soft cover, <=25 pages (excl cover), <=8x11 in, third-party vendor only (home/unverifiable vendor returned). NO explicit hardcover ban found on mail-rules page (did NOT assert paperback-only). No limit on # of books (only property limits). Content review by Incoming Publication Review Committee (IPRC). Inmates may self-order via catalogs/brochures (ship to SPC) or eBooks on tablets. Timeline: publications reach inmate ~2-3 weeks after SPC delivery; SPC operates 5 days/week. Rejection: 15 working days to appeal to facility manager per DC-ADM 804; or forward cash slip + addressed envelope within 15 working days to mail it out; else destroyed. Keep CARRIER TRACKING NUMBER (DOC cannot investigate a missing publication without it). Historical 2018 Smart Communications $4M contract + cut of free-book programs (Books Through Bars, Book 'Em) = background only, NOT current policy; current page lists donated books as accepted.
How to Send Books and Magazines to an Inmate in Pennsylvania
A book is one of the best things you can put in the hands of someone you love inside a Pennsylvania prison. It fills the long, empty hours, it keeps the mind working, and it is a piece of the outside world they get to hold. Pennsylvania's system has one wrinkle that catches almost everyone, and once you understand it the rest is straightforward. Let me walk you through exactly how it works.
I am going to explain it the way someone who has done time would, plainly, so you get it right the first time and your money and effort actually reach the person you sent them for.
The One Thing That Trips Everyone Up: Two Different Addresses
Here is the single most important thing to understand about Pennsylvania, and the reason so many books never arrive. Pennsylvania uses two completely different addresses depending on what you are sending, and they are in two different states.
Your letters, cards, and photos go to a company called Smart Communications in Florida, where they are scanned and printed for your person. But books and magazines do not go there. They go to the Pennsylvania DOC's Security Processing Center, called the SPC, in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. If you send a book to the Florida letter address, it will not reach your person. This mix-up is the most common reason a book bounces in Pennsylvania, so burn it into memory: letters to Florida, publications to the SPC in Pennsylvania.
The publications address is this. Address your book or magazine to your person by name and inmate number, then to 268 Bricker Road, Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667. That is the SPC, and every book, magazine, calendar, photo book, and catalog goes there first for a security screening before it is forwarded to the prison where your person is housed.
The reason for the two-address system is contraband control. Routing letters through a scanning vendor and publications through a dedicated screening center lets the DOC inspect everything coming in without the prison mailroom handling raw mail. It is more steps for you, but it is why a book that follows the rules gets through cleanly. The flip side is that the system is unforgiving about the address, since the Florida vendor is set up to scan letters, not to forward books, so a book that lands there is essentially lost. Get the address right and you avoid the single biggest pitfall in the state.
The Rule That Matters Most for Books
Here is the rule to lock in: a publication has to come directly from an original source vendor, meaning a publisher, a bookstore, or an online distributor. You cannot pack up a book at home and mail it in yourself. A publication sent directly by a private person is not allowed and gets returned.
The good news is that this still leaves you plenty of room, and it specifically includes online distributors. So ordering a book online and having it shipped directly to the SPC works. New and donated books are both accepted, which is more generous than many states, and there is no limit on how many books your person may receive, though there are limits on how much property they may keep at one time. The reason for the original-source rule is the same one behind most prison mail policies: when a book ships sealed from a real publisher, bookstore, or distributor, the screening center can trust it has not been tampered with along the way, which is the contraband risk a hand-packed personal package raises.
Using Amazon to Send a Book
Because Amazon is an online distributor, you can order from Amazon and have a book shipped directly to the SPC for your person. This is the easiest route for most families.
Keep your shipper's tracking number. It will track on the shipping company's site until the package reaches the SPC, and after that you can follow it on the DOC's own SPC tracking tool until it reaches the prison. If a book never shows up, the DOC cannot even investigate without that carrier tracking number, so hold onto it. If you do need to follow up on a missing book, the prison mailroom will want the vendor you ordered from, the full SPC address you used, your person's name and number, how many publications were missing, the carrier, and that tracking number, so keeping the order confirmation makes the whole thing painless.
How Long It Takes
Patience matters here more than in most states, because of the extra screening step. A publication addressed correctly will reach your person within about two to three weeks of arriving at the SPC. The SPC operates five days a week, screens every item for contraband, and then forwards it to the prison mailroom, which delivers it to your person. So do not panic if a book takes a couple of weeks. Build that timeline into your expectations, especially around birthdays or holidays, and order early.
Magazines and Newspapers
Magazines are a great fit for Pennsylvania. They are explicitly accepted at the SPC, so a subscription is one of the most reliable, low-effort ways to keep your person reading. Once it is set, each issue ships from the publisher to the SPC on its own and gets screened and forwarded, giving your person something to look forward to without anyone having to act again.
What Else the SPC Accepts
Pennsylvania accepts a wider range of reading material than many states, all through the SPC. Beyond new books and magazines, the accepted list includes donated books, calendars including customized ones, photo books, book catalogues, printed religious literature, donated library books with the facility librarian's approval, books for staff, and correspondence course materials.
Two specifics are worth knowing. Donated books are allowed, which keeps the door open to nonprofit book programs and library donations, though donated library books need the facility librarian's approval. And religious items are handled differently: items from the Religious Articles Catalog must be ordered by the inmate and shipped to the facility directly, so a family member cannot order religious articles on their behalf. Regular printed religious literature, like a book or a Bible from a bookseller, follows the normal publication route to the SPC.
Photo Books and a Note on Photos
Photo books are a nice option in Pennsylvania, and they go to the SPC like other publications. To be accepted, a photo book must have a soft cover, be no more than twenty-five pages not counting the cover, not exceed eight by eleven inches, meet the content rules, and come from a third-party vendor, not a home printer. A photo book sent from a home address or an unverifiable vendor gets returned.
Do not confuse this with loose photos. Loose photographs are general correspondence, so they go to the Smart Communications address in Florida, limited to twenty-five per mailing, and they are scanned rather than delivered as originals. Photo books, with their soft cover and page limit, go to the SPC. Keeping that straight is part of the same two-address discipline that gets everything else right.
What Can Get a Publication Rejected
Pennsylvania reviews incoming publications through its Incoming Publication Review Committee, and content has to comply with the DOC's mail and publications policy. The most common, avoidable rejection is a title that sits on the DOC Publication Denial List, which is exactly why checking that list before you order is the smartest two minutes you can spend. Beyond that, content tied to security, obscenity, or the safe operation of the prison can be excluded, so sticking to mainstream titles keeps you well clear.
If a publication is denied, your person has fifteen working days to appeal in writing to the facility manager through the inmate grievance system. If they choose not to appeal, they can send a cash slip with an addressed envelope to the mailroom within fifteen working days to have the item mailed to a friend or family member. Otherwise it is destroyed. None of this is the end of the world, but ordering a title that is not on the denial list avoids the whole dance.
How Your Person Can Order for Themselves
It helps to know your person has options too. They can order books and publications using catalogs and brochures that publication companies send into the prison, shipping to the SPC as the address. If your person has a tablet, they can also buy eBooks directly, which skip the mail system entirely and arrive instantly. Encouraging the eBook route for tablet users is often the fastest way to get a specific title into their hands, and it sidesteps the SPC timeline altogether.
Lean on the Library
Here is something families overlook. Pennsylvania prisons have libraries, and using them is free. Encourage your person to use the library heavily and to ask about titles they want, since that often puts a book in their hands faster and at no cost than a shipped order that has to clear the SPC. For a family watching every dollar, the library does the heavy lifting, and your money can go toward the few titles your person most wants to own, plus a magazine subscription. We keep current pointers to programs and resources that serve Pennsylvania on our Pennsylvania reentry resources page, which is a good place to check as procedures change.
Staying Connected
Reading is one thread of staying close, but it works best alongside steady contact. Pennsylvania scans your letters and photos through Smart Communications and delivers them on the tablet or in print, and many facilities support electronic messaging too. Keeping up regular communication makes the books you send land in a fuller relationship rather than arriving cold. Think of the SPC and the library for reading, and letters, messaging, calls, and visits for staying connected. Just remember the split: letters and loose photos to Smart Communications in Florida, books and magazines to the SPC in Bellefonte.
Get It Right the First Time
Here is the whole thing in a breath. In Pennsylvania, books and magazines must ship directly from a publisher, bookstore, or online distributor, which includes ordering from Amazon, and they go to the Security Processing Center at 268 Bricker Road, Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667, addressed with your person's name and inmate number. That is a different address from the Smart Communications letter address in Florida, and mixing them up is the number one mistake. Check the DOC Publication Denial List before ordering, keep your tracking number, and expect two to three weeks. Magazines work beautifully as a subscription to the SPC. Photo books go to the SPC; loose photos go to Florida. And lean on the free library and your person's eBook option to round things out.
Get it right and you become the person who reliably gets good books to someone who needs them. On the inside, that means more than you can know from out here.
FAQ
**Where do I send a book in Pennsylvania?** To the Security Processing Center, not the letter address. Address it to your person's name and inmate number, then 268 Bricker Road, Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667. Books and magazines sent to the Smart Communications letter address in Florida will not reach your person.
**Can I mail a book myself?** No. Publications must come directly from an original source vendor, meaning a publisher, bookstore, or online distributor. A book sent directly by a private person is returned. Order it and have the vendor ship it to the SPC.
**Can I order from Amazon?** Yes. Amazon is an online distributor, which is exactly what Pennsylvania allows. Order the book and have it shipped directly to the SPC with your person's name and inmate number. Check the DOC Publication Denial List first.
**How do magazines work in Pennsylvania?** Magazines are accepted at the SPC, so a subscription ordered from the publisher and shipped to 268 Bricker Road in Bellefonte works well. Address it with your person's name and inmate number, and not to the Florida letter address.
**How long does it take for a book to arrive?** A correctly addressed publication reaches your person within about two to three weeks of arriving at the SPC, which screens every item before forwarding it to the prison. Keep your carrier tracking number, since the DOC cannot investigate a missing book without it.
**What is the DOC Publication Denial List?** It is a list, published on the Pennsylvania DOC website, of publications that are not allowed. A title on that list will be rejected, so check it before you order to avoid wasting money and time.
**What if a publication is denied?** Your person has fifteen working days to appeal in writing to the facility manager through the grievance system. If they do not appeal, they can send a cash slip and an addressed envelope to the mailroom within fifteen working days to mail it out. Otherwise it is destroyed.