The Community Reentry Book Club, which meets monthly at the M. Allan Vogelson Camden County Library Branch, draws together diverse attendees to discuss books that offer first-hand, historical, political and other perspectives on incarceration and post-incarceration reentry.
“To be able to use a classic library program like a book club…to talk about issues of mass incarceration, reentry, civil rights and related topics— that just seemed like a natural fit for us,” said Julie Tozer, Branch Manager for the Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez Downtown Branch of Camden County Library.
Tozer leads the book club in partnership with Camden County’s Reentry efforts. Tozer works with Sharon Bean, who, as Jail Population Manager for Camden County, aims to decrease the jail’s population, including through reentry work that prevents recidivism.
Bean spoke about the importance of humanizing those impacted by incarceration through remembering that “these are people, with lives, with families.”
Camden County Commissioner Jonathan Young explained in an email that the book club “is just one more way we can challenge the stigma surrounding the justice-impacted community and reflects our commitment to building a county where reentry is not seen as a burden, but as an investment in human potential and the long‑term wellbeing of our entire community.”
The book club is structured to be welcoming and to avoid shame that can arise from not finishing books between meetings. During the first meeting on a particular book, attendees read parts of the book aloud, enabling all to access the discussion. At the next meeting, they continue discussing the book started the previous month. All may share thoughts or just listen, regardless of how much they read between meetings.
The Community Reentry Book Club has met continuously since 2019, including virtual meetings due to covid-19. In 2025, the Library was recognized with New Jersey Library Association’s Innovative Program Award in recognition of the Community Reentry Book Club.
On June 10, nine attendees gathered to begin discussing These Walls: The Battle for Rikers Island and the Future of America’s Jails by Eva Fedderly. Starting with introductions, the conversation flowed without much formal facilitation from Tozer or Bean, as attendees shared and responded to one another’s reflections on incarceration-related topics. Group members read passages aloud from the beginning of the book and reflected on the readings.
“I have learned so much,” said Eva Black, who has been attending for almost a year. Black had the opportunity this past March to be at the opening of Camden County’s Reentry Release Center, a hub for wrap-around reentry services including housing, healthcare, employment and peer support.
Another attendee, Dijon Johnson, shared his appreciation of the book club as an in-person space to “contribute thoughts and advocate [and to] show up and bring my voice.”
Johnson invited his grandmother, Pat Johnson, to the book club, and both were present on June 10.
At the Community Reentry Book Club’s next meeting at 7pm on July 8, attendees will continue to discuss These Walls. All are welcome to join.
