Universidade Potiguar Donates More Than 10,000 Books to Prison Libraries

The law school at Universidade Potiguar (UnP), a Laureate network institution in Brazil, has donated more than 10,000 books through the Brazilian Bar Association to be utilized by Project New Way, an organization that sets up libraries in state prisons. With the donation, it is estimated that another seven reading centers will be established in other prison units in Rio Grande do Norte.

“The University is a living organism and so we have an opportunity to work with society through initiatives such as this, giving back some of our social commitment,” said the Dean of UnP, Prof. Gedson Nunes, at the handing over ceremony. The Director of the School of Law, Fernando Cabral, also stressed the importance of the initiative. “We are very happy. There is no doubt that this donation will make a great contribution, especially in humanizing the re-socialization processes for inmates. UnP organizes several other social efforts. This is another step. May there be many more,” he said.

The idea behind the donation is to develop prison libraries that cater to everyone. The initiative will help to comply with State Law No. 10182, to reduce sentences based on reading, which came into effect in February of 2017 and states that prisoners can have four days subtracted from their sentences for each book read.