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DELC is celebrating the statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library! Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Oregon is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by delivering high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to the homes of registered Oregon children under age 5, at no cost to the family.
"You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children."
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners. Today, her program spans five countries and gifts over 3 million free books each month to children around the world.
During the 2023 legislative session, under Senate Bill 5506, $1.7 million was appropriated to DELC to help administer and expand the program statewide. The state's investment in the Imagination Library is allowing local partners to quickly launch book deliveries to as many children as possible across the state. The books delivered monthly are free to all children and families who sign up for the program.
In 1995, Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee, USA. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. By mailing high quality, age appropriate books directly to their homes, Dolly wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could ensure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.
The first book order in 1995 totaled just over 1,700. Today, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library sends more than three million books per month to children around the world inspiring them to Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be More!
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library puts books into the hands and hearts of children around the world. Imagination Library books are specially selected age-appropriate, high-quality titles. These books are delivered to registered children each month from birth to age five. Each one is personalized with the child’s name and mailed directly to the child’s home.
"The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school." - National Commission on Reading
"The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school."
- National Commission on Reading
Recent studies suggest participation in the Imagination Library is positively and significantly associated with higher measures of early language and math development. A panel of early childhood literacy experts takes great care in choosing books that meet the different needs of children as they progress from birth to age five.
Since 2011, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) has partnered with American Printing House for the Blind, Inc (APH) to provide many of the wonderful books in our program, available in braille and audio format to be accessible to young children who are blind or visually impaired. Thanks to this collaborative effort, DPIL, APH and Penguin Group USA, continues to expand its collection of titles which are available as free downloadable children’s audio books and many other titles available in braille from APH. These are offered free-of-charge to eligible families and may be purchased at a low cost by all others. Visit APH.org/Imagination-Library-Collaboration to learn more.
Each month, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails a high quality, age appropriate book to all registered children, addressed to them, at no cost to the child’s family. Countless parents have shared how excited their child is when their new book arrives each month. Many groups and individuals work hard behind the scenes to make that special moment possible for each child.
The Imagination Library provides the infrastructure of the core program including managing the secure central database for the Book Order System and coordinating book selections and wholesale purchasing. It also incurs the cost of the program’s administrative expenses and coordinates the monthly mailings.
To learn more about becoming a community partner, contact Kaylee Chrystal, Community Engagement Coordinator, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Oregon at kchrystal@or.imaginationlibrary.com. To enroll in this program and learn more as it is expanded across the state, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com.
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