Books at ACJ
Ordering Books
Effective immediately, books may be purchased from any book vendor that ships through the United States Postal Service (USPS), UPS, or FedEx. Please note that Amazon deliveries cannot be accepted unless the orders are delivered by one of those three companies. Magazines and newspapers must be sent directly from the publisher and via United States Postal Service (USPS), UPS, or FedEx.
Books must be ordered through a book vendor and cannot be sent from a residential address. Books sent from residential addresses will not be delivered to incarcerated individuals and will be returned.
For book orders, the address must contain:
Incarcerated Individual Name
DOC Number
Allegheny County Jail
950 Second Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Ordering Information
Inmates may receive up to seven paperback books or publications a day, which must be sent via the United States Postal Service (USPS), UPS, or FedEx. A USPS delivery scan may indicate a book has been delivered to the post office, which does not necessarily mean it has arrived at the ACJ.
A receipt from the distributor is required to ensure inventory is correct. If a receipt is not received or does not contain the appropriate information, jail staff will hold the book for 10 days and contact the incarcerated individual through the tablet system so the individual can reach out to the sender to provide the receipt to the jail.
Prohibited Books
The following books are not permitted in Allegheny County Jail facilities:
- Hardcover books
- Books with plastic or wire bindings
- Books containing pornography, sexually explicit material or nudity
- Books that advocate violence
- Books pertaining to weapons, firearms and ammunition, or directions for making explosives
- Books pertaining to tattoo styles
- Books deemed to compromise the safety and security of the facility
Submitting Receipts and Filing Complaints & Appeals Online
To submit book order receipts or file complaints and appeals online, please use the following process:
- Visit the Support Center and select “Request Service/File Complaint”
- Select “Jail Inmate Book Orders”
- Select “Book Order Receipt,” “Book Order Complaint” or “Book Order Decision Appeal”
- The next screen will prompt creation of a GovQA account - this must be created before submitting receipts, complaints or appeals