Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

The Reason: Educators have emphasized the fact that reading with your preschool child is the single most important activity to prepare a child for school. Dolly Parton created her Imagination Library to guarantee access to books and to inspire parents to read to their children as much as possible.

The Program: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was launched in 1996 for preschoolers in Sevier County, Tennessee, as a gift of encouragement for the children of her Smoky Mountain homeland. This is how the program works in Sevier County:

In Sevier County from the day they are born, children who register for the program receive a book every month until their fifth birthday. Preschoolers currently living in the community may enter the program at any time and begin receiving an age-appropriate book every month until their fifth birthday. Families with preschool children who move into the community are eligible to register and become part of the program. Participating families who move out of the community will exit the program at that time. If a family has more than one preschool age child, each child may participate and receive his/her own library.

For more information, visit us at: Imaginationlibrary.com