Hailey Heseltine
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Since 1995, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library has been providing children with a monthly free book from birth to age 5. Thirty-one years later, this program is currently available to children in Jefferson County, who can sign up at the local R.J. Bailar Public Library (JCPL).
Parton created the Imagination Library in honor of her father, an intelligent man who never had access to the resources he needed to learn how to read as a child. She set out to help bridge the literacy gap by providing children with high-quality, free books during some of their most formative years, regardless of their family's income. More than 30 years later, it has expanded from a small operation in her childhood county in Tennessee to an international project that supplies millions of children with new reading material monthly to inspire, educate and ignite imagination.
“Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission. In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county, but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over 3 million children … Let's share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books,” reads Parton's letter on imaginationlibrary.com.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is available to Jefferson County residents through JCPL. Interested residents can visit JCPL (375. S. Water St.) in-person to fill out and turn in a form. After the form is processed, the enrolled child will receive a free book in the mail every month until they turn 5 years old. Any child within the age range, regardless of income or any other related factors, is eligible for this program.
For more information, visit jcpl.wildernesscoast.org/dolly-parton-imagination-library or imaginationlibrary.com.