Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library goes statewide
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Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday announced the statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program provides free, age-appropriate books each month to children from birth to age five, regardless of family income.
The Imagination Library is currently available in 54 counties and partially available in eight more. The expansion, which is part of Holcomb’s 2023 Next Level Agenda, will bring the program to all 92 counties.
Holcomb’s office says the Indiana State Library will coordinate the program. Beginning Sept. 1, current local Imagination Library partners will only have to pay 50% of their local program cost, with the state picking up the remainder.
The expansion is being funded by a two-year, $6 million appropriation that Holcomb approved in May. The state will provide $2 million in the first year and $4 million in the second.
“Early literacy is very important, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program makes reading fun and exciting for children and their families,” Indiana State Librarian Jake Speer said in a news release. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with existing and new partners in Indiana to get statewide coverage of this program.”
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library launched in 1995 as the flagship program of the not-for-profit Dollywood Foundation. Since its inception, the program has provided more than 200 million free books to kids in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and The Republic of Ireland.
You can learn more about the program by clicking here.