Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is expanding its international footprint by doubling its reach across London to serve 157,000 children, arriving as lawmakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey pursue new state funding for the free monthly book program following the music icon’s death at age 80.
London Expansion and Global Growth of the Imagination Library
One month after Dolly Parton died on August 25 at age 80, the Dollywood Foundation confirmed that her literacy initiative is scaling up its operations internationally. The program is expanding in London with £5 million, or $6.6 million, in new funding from Britain’s People’s Postcode Lottery.
Previously operating in just five of London’s 32 boroughs, the Imagination Library will now operate in 10 boroughs, opening access to monthly books for another 157,000 children from birth until their fifth birthday. Since Parton founded the charity in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, to honor her illiterate father, the program has distributed more than 330 million free books internationally across the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and Ireland.
“Dolly always wanted the Imagination Library to be something that lived on for generations into the future. She was constantly pushing us about how we get the Imagination Library to more and more children and more and more families.”
Jeff Conyers, president of the Dollywood Foundation
Legislative Pushes in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Stateside, lawmakers are moving to establish or expand state-backed versions of the program. In New Jersey, Assemblyman Bill Moen is sponsoring legislation to create a statewide Imagination Library program housed within the state Department of Education, backed by a $2 million allocation. The measure aims to let children under five enroll to receive one free book in the mail each month.
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“What this bill aims to address is eliminating the excuse or the reason that there’s not a book in the household or in the bedroom that could be used to read to your kids at night.”
Assemblyman Bill Moen
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, literacy advocates are pushing to expand Parton’s book program statewide. Although a state House bill passed in a bipartisan 116-87 vote last December, it has remained stalled in the Senate Education Committee. The proposal would establish a Child Literacy Program under the state Education Department to match funds put up by local nonprofits.
Surging Signups and Childhood Literacy Concerns
Public interest in the program has spiked following Parton’s death. According to data cited from ABC News, roughly 350,000 children have signed up for the Imagination Library since the singer passed away.
This renewed attention coincides with mounting concerns over reading proficiency. In the United States, recent National Assessment of Educational Progress results show that 33 percent of eighth graders and 40 percent of fourth graders score at the “below basic” level in reading.
Honoring a Philanthropic Legacy Through Literacy
Communities across the United States have marked the singer’s impact through official observances. California became the first state to permanently establish September 25 as Dolly Parton Day after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bipartisan legislation, while Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a proclamation declaring the day Dolly Parton 9 to 5 Day.