As children’s librarians, we all know the importance of putting books into the hands of young children. Research has shown that with the right exposure to books, paper, crayons and the adults in their lives, children can gain substantial knowledge of language, reading and writing well before they enter school. Therefore, it is critical to provide children with access to literature as infants. One organization that has made early childhood literacy its mission is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
Established in 1996, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library strives to foster a love of reading and learning in preschool children by giving families a free home library. This program directly mails a child a book a month from birth until he or she is five years old, sixty books in all. Imagine how exciting it is for children to find a book addressed to them in their mailbox each month! A committee of educators carefully selects high quality, age appropriate books. The first book a child receives is The Little Engine That Could; the month the child turns 5, he or she is mailed Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come. To date, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library has delivered over 50,000,000 books in four countries.
In order to participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a community must make the program accessible to all the preschool children in their area. The community is responsible for paying for the program, promoting the program, registering children, and entering the children into the organization’s database. The Dollywood Foundation then handles the delivery of the books to the home. The cost of the program is less than thirty dollars a year per child.
Just 18 months ago, Ohio’s Greene County Library System decided to partner with the Imagination Library after a lot of investigation, finding the program to be easy to administer, reasonably priced, and open to all children regardless of income level as long as they are under the age of 5 and live in their service area. In order to pay for their 3422 enrollees, the library system looked to the Soin Medical Center, the United Way of Greater Dayton, their own public library foundation, and many local service organizations for sponsorships. As of this month, the library has helped send over 55,000 books to children in their community. Kay Webster, Greene County’s Youth Services Coordinator, advises libraries interested in partnering with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to “build strong partnerships in your community and get your partners excited about being involved in the program. Have a plan for how you will raise funds to sustain the program, because it will be popular.”
By creating partnerships that help build future generations of life-long readers, libraries foster their own value and sustainability within their communities. To learn more about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library go to their website at www.imaginationlibrary.com/
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Jennifer Longee is the librarian at Durham Academy Middle School in Durham, North Carolina. She currently serves on the Theodore Seuss Geisel Award Committee, ALSC’s Liaison to National Organizations Serving Children and Youth Committee, and the ALA/Children’s Book Council Joint Committee.
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