Bookstores of the South signed an agreement to promote libraries in prisons

Published at: 17/11/2025 08:09 AM

With the purpose of expanding access to books and creating new reading spaces, the Southern Bookstores Foundation signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Penitentiary Services to strengthen the national network of bookstores and support the provision of libraries in detention centers.

The president of Bookstores of the South, Omar Rangel, stressed that this initiative is part of the policies of the National Book Center, and responds to the need to sustain and expand the supply of bookstores throughout the country, especially in a context of economic siege against the Bolivarian nation.

“This agreement allows us to exchange books for essential furniture for our headquarters, both for the rest of 2025 and in 2026,” he said, adding that the bibliographic material received will be used to install and organize libraries in prisons.

Rangel explained that the plan will start this year with a pilot project and plans to reach all detention centers by 2026. In addition to the delivery, he indicated that the Foundation is committed to accompanying and training those who will be in charge of these spaces.

“We want to encourage the creation of reading circles where the written word is a tool for debate, reflection and personal growth,” he said.

For his part, the Minister for the Penitentiary Service, Julio García Zerpa, specified that this agreement is in addition to a set of alliances recently signed with cultural and educational institutions. “Today we formalized agreements with the Orchestra System, the Southern Library, the Sucre Mission, the Alcatraz Project and Narcotics Anonymous. These are converging efforts to form integral human beings and promote their reintegration,” he said.

VTV