The Arkansas Department of Corrections informed the state corrections board on Monday that it will abandon plans to restrict incarcerated individuals’ access to physical books, newspapers, and publications. Instead, the department will focus on updating an existing 2022 policy to target third-party sellers accused of distributing drug-laced materials to prisons.
Officials explained the shift during a Sept. 21 board meeting in Little Rock, saying the revised policy would clarify language and grant the department authority to ban vendors found to be engaging in such practices. Tawnie Hughes, the department’s chief legal officer, emphasized that incarcerated people will continue to have the ability to purchase physical reading materials, based on a draft policy discussed with the board.
"Please do not print a headline that says we’re banning books, because we’re not," said Board of Corrections Chairman Jamie Barker during the meeting.
The proposal to restrict access to physical books first surfaced last year amid efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into Arkansas prisons. While that plan would not have removed books from prison libraries, it would have blocked individuals from purchasing books from retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The initiative drew criticism from civil liberties and prison reform groups, as well as families of incarcerated individuals, leading officials to halt its implementation earlier this year so it could undergo formal rulemaking.
Critics argued that such restrictions disproportionately limit access to reading materials, as prison libraries and prison-issued tablets often have outdated or limited offerings. Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace acknowledged similar concerns on Monday, highlighting that tablets are not universally available to incarcerated people.
"If we could get some library options that were bolstered and they had more opportunities to get what they wanted, I don’t have a problem with that," Wallace said. "But also, not everybody gets tablets."
The ongoing discussion about access to books is part of a broader effort to combat drug-related overdoses in Arkansas prisons, where officials report an increase in drugs that do not respond to naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote. Wallace noted that the problem is not unique to Arkansas, describing it as a nationwide issue exacerbated by the shifting nature of contraband substances.
"This is not an Arkansas-unique problem," Wallace said. "It’s happening everywhere. Everybody is dealing with these drugs coming in and their deaths."
The changes to the original proposal, Wallace said, reflect practical concerns, including the inadequacy of digital reading options to replace physical books entirely. The department plans to monitor the impact of the revised policy before considering further measures.
The discussion also touched on a similar attempt to restrict physical books in Baxter County, which was overturned in federal court. Corrections board members noted the legal challenges such policies can face, emphasizing the importance of exhausting less restrictive measures before pursuing stringent options.