Donating Books to Barrow County Jail Inmates: What’s Accepted and What’s Not

Barrow County Jail accepts book and magazine donations seven days a week. The main format rule is simple: paperbacks only. Hardcover books will be turned away. Here's the part that trips people up. You can't drop off individual books, Bibles, or magazines intended for a specific inmate. All donations are treated as library materials for general distribution, not personal deliveries.

Section 2

• ✓ Paperback Bibles (accepted for distribution to inmates)
• ✓ Paperback religious texts from other faiths (for example, the Qur’an and the Tanakh)
• ✓ Educational paperbacks
• ✓ Self-help paperbacks
• ✓ Spanish-language (Hispanic written) paperbacks

Any book or magazine containing nudity or sexual content is off-limits. The same goes for materials with instructions on manufacturing or purchasing weapons. The jail also prohibits "disparaging crimes" non-fiction, so crime-related non-fiction that falls into that category won't be accepted either.

Book and magazine donations are accepted seven days a week. If you're sorting items at home beforehand, stick with paperbacks and screen out anything that fits the prohibited categories listed above. Those items won't make it past the front desk.

1. Call with book and magazine policy questions: Contact Detention Officer Kelsey Robinson at 770-307-3080 ext. 3981.
2. Use the alternate contact if needed: If Kelsey Robinson is not available, contact Detention Officer Cassandra Newbold at ext. 3979.
3. Confirm drop-off and allowed item details: Call the Detention Center at (770) 307-3080 (option 1) for details about items that may be brought to an inmate or dropped off.