Jackson County Public Library & Public School District Supports Dolly Parton’s “Imagination Library”

Jackson County Public Library Director Ashley Wagers and Children’s Librarian Kim Mullins had the incredible opportunity to attend a special event in Kentucky celebrating the fact that all 120 KY Counties now offer the “Imagination Library” program! Country music icon Dolly Parton was in Lexington last Tuesday (August 27, 2024) to celebrate the expansion of her Imagination Library program. All Kentucky children under five years of age can now enroll in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library! The event celebrated the statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Kentucky and encourage more families to participate in the free book-gifting program. Parton took part in a question and answer session, sang and was even presented with a Kentucky Colonel nod from the Governor and First Lady.

This program provides free books to children every month until they reach the age of 5. The event was celebrated by Governor Andy Beshear and his wife Britainy as well as the legendary Dolly Parton, who gave a heartfelt performance of her iconic song "A Coat of Many Colors." During the event, Dolly Parton was honored with the title of Kentucky Colonel. As the coordinators for the Imagination Library in Jackson County, Ashley and Kim were thrilled to be part of this celebration. If you have a child under 5, they are eligible to receive a free book delivered right to your door! Message the library for more information or sign up online today!

In 1995, Dolly Parton launched this exciting program, “Dolly Parton’s 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. The new program gave each child a specially selected book each month. 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.

Since its launch, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has set and surpassed many goals and milestones. National replication, which started in 2000, allowed more and more communities to adopt the program. State-wide coverage was established in Tennessee in 2004. Furthermore, international growth provided expansion in Canada (2006), United Kingdom (2007) and Australia (2014).

The first book order in 1995 totaled just over 1,700. Today, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library sends more than one million books per month to children around the world inspiring them to Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be 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.

The Imagination Library partners with Local Affiliates and Partners who help bring the program to cities, towns and communities around the world. Local Affiliates can be businesses, school districts, small or large organizations, or simply individuals who share in the mission and purpose of the Imagination Library. In Jackson County the local affiliate/partner is the Jackson County Public School District. Jackson County Public Library Director Ashley Wagers serves as the point of contact. You can reach her at 1-606-287-8113 or by email at Ashley.wagers@jcplib.org You can also reach her by mail at P.O. Box 160, McKee, KY 40447.

Local Affiliates are responsible for enrolling children who live within the geographical area they offered the program in. They promote their local programs online and at events. While the Imagination Library negotiates wholesale pricing for the books, the Local Affiliates and Partners are responsible for securing funds to cover that cost. Books are 100% free to enrolled children because their Local Affiliate has secured funds to cover the cost of the books and the shipping fees.