Mon
Jun 21 2010
11:42 am
Dolly's Imagination Library delivers 10 million free books
By: R. Neal

10 Million Free Books Delivered to Tennessee Children Through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library:

Dolly Parton, who first created the program says, "I am one of the biggest dreamers that has ever lived, but I can honestly say I never dreamed that we would give 10 million books to Tennessee’s children… and the best thing of all, this is only the beginning!"

Created in 1996 by Dolly Parton as a gift to the children in her hometown of Sevierville, Tenn., the Imagination Library mails a new, age-appropriate, high-quality book every month to registered children, from birth until age five – at no cost to the family, regardless of income. Just $24 annually provides for the purchase and delivery of 12 books to one child. This cost is split evenly between a non-profit sponsoring organization in every Tennessee county, and a state budgetary allocation administered by the GBBF.

Currently, more than 214,000 Tennessee children under the age of five in all 95 counties are receiving an age appropriate, high quality book delivered each month to their home. More than 170,000 children have graduated from the program since 2004.

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bizgrrl's picture

What a wonderful program. I

Submitted by bizgrrl on Mon, 2010/06/21 - 1:00pm.

What a wonderful program. I did not know it was for the entire state.

It appears there can be a correlation between poverty levels and county residents taking advantage of Dolly's free book program. To some extent, the higher the poverty level, the lower the likelihood that people will opt for the free books.

There are some anomalies, e.g. Knox County. However, Robertson and Sumner might not seem to fit, but when you consider the two counties are right next to each other and Robertson does have the higher level of poverty and the lower level of participation. The same might be considered for Fayette County, which is right next to Shelby County. When comparing the two counties that are right next to each other, the one with the higher poverty level participates less.

Who knows? Just a thought.

TN Counties Persons below Poverty Level - 2008 % of eligible kids enrolled in Dolly's free book program
Cock 20.6% 47% enrolled
Shelby 18% 45% enrolled
Davidson 16.9% 49% enrolled
Roane 15.5% 58% enrolled
Anderson 15.4% 63% enrolled
Knox 14.3% 72% enrolled
Hamilton 14.1% 60% enrolled
Sevier 13.2% 61% enrolled
Fayette 12.7% 83% enrolled
Loudon 11.1% 57% enrolled
Robertson 11.1% 48% enrolled
Blount 10.8% 72% enrolled
Sumner 8.7% 60% enrolled
Williamson 5.0% 75% enrolled
smalc's picture

The program is administered

Submitted by smalc on Mon, 2010/06/21 - 1:24pm.

The program is administered by local organizations. I think that has a lot to do with the enrollment. Knox County has a good library system which publicizes enrollment heavily. I live in Loudon County where it was pretty cumbersome to get our kids enrolled. Just finding out who to contact was difficult. So I'm guessing the amount of time and effort a county puts toward it relates directly to enrollment numbers. Our kids have never received books as regularly as friends in Knox County either.

It's a great program regardless. Some of the books aren't the best, but you can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

bizgrrl's picture

You might be right. Blount

Submitted by bizgrrl on Mon, 2010/06/21 - 1:43pm.

You might be right. Blount County has a great library with just one location. Their outreach might just get the job done. I would think Davidson County could do better, but it doesn't appear they have a library system handling the program.

JillCG's picture

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Submitted by JillCG on Thu, 2010/06/24 - 3:28pm.

Actually it is very simple if you live in Tennessee to register your child (5 or under)no matter what county you are from! Just visit (link...) and click on Enroll. That's it!

Also, to answer your questions...every single county in TN (all 95) have their own Imagination Library and they all fund the program differently. Some do grassroots fundraising, some are funded through local government, United Way or Rotary, etc. But what is unique about Tennessee is we are the only place in the world where the state funds half of the cost of the program. So the counties just come up with the other half. The cost of the program is about $24 per child per year and so the state pays $12 per child and each county pays the other $12.

Hope this clears things up! Visit (link...) to learn more about this amazing program!

Davidson County's program is housed within Vanderbilt's Children's Hospital. It is called Books from Birth of Middle Tennessee and they cover Davidson, Williamson and Sumner Counties.

CathyMcCaughan's picture

Why this program is

Submitted by CathyMcCaughan on Thu, 2010/06/24 - 5:13pm.

Why this program is important.

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