Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: "A World Full of Dreams and Possibilities"
Research consistently shows that reading with young children is among the most important things parents can do to stimulate language development and help youngsters enter school ready to learn. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program encourages this by mailing children a new, age-appropriate book every month between birth and age 5. For the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this was an opportunity to build on the positive experience of an earlier very successful grant to another book distribution program, as well as to explore two emerging areas of interest, early childhood and children growing up in rural poverty. The Foundation provided a single, relatively small grant as a "bet" that documenting the operation and impact of this idea could help spread it to a much larger audience.
- From distributing about 25,000 books in one community in the start-up years, in 2007, Imagination Library sent more than 4.5 million books to children in over 730 communities. Monthly, 420,000 children receive books. The Casey-funded study helped fuel that growth by confirming that children are excited about books and that parents spend more time reading with them as a result of the program.
- Tennessee has adopted the program statewide and provides state subsidies for book distribution. West Virginia provides funding in six counties. In November 2006, Imagination Library became available to children in Canada, and the United Kingdom launched its program in December 2007.
- Across the country, private, philanthropic and public sources are providing almost $11 million to put books in the hands of eager children.
For more information, read the full Imagination Library Program Profile, which includes background on the program, why this was of interest to the Casey Foundation, and our return on investment.
Contact:The Dollywood Foundation
1020 Dollywood Lane
Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
865-428-9604