By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
The Geneseo Public Library has teamed up with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to offer free children’s books.
Claire Crawford, Geneseo Library Director, said, “We are excited to be able to be apart of this fantastic program to promote literacy. It’s been on our radar for some time, and thanks to a grant from the State of Illinois, we are able to make this happen at our library. All you have to do is come into the library and complete a registration form. We feel like it’s a Christmas gift to the children of Henry County.”
The Geneseo Library currently is registering children, 0 to 5 years old, for the January book. Residents of Henry County may register at the library. Online or phone registrations will not be accepted. There is no cost to the families of the children who sign up as the Geneseo Library and the State of Illinois cover the cost along with the Imagination Library.
As a result of a grant written by Claire Crawford, the library is able to shoulder the cost of the program. Monetary donations to the library are always welcome to help defray the costs.
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.
Information received from the Geneseo Library stated, “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 aim of the Imagination Library is to pick age-appropriate books that foster a “love of reading and learning; regard for diversity of people, their roles, culture and environment; promotion of self-esteem and confidence, appreciation of art and aesthetics.”
The first book distributed is one of Parton’s favorites, “The Little Engine That Could.”
A children’s book by Parton herself, “I Am a Rainbow,” also has been included in the program.
THE STORY BEHIND DOLLY PARTON’S IMAGINATION LIBRARY
Dolly Parton’s father would be so happy if he could see her now. She has often spoken about her father’s life….”Well, my dad, like so many country people, the hard-working people, especially back in the rural areas, my dad never had a chance to go to school because he had to help make a living for the family. And so Daddy couldn’t read and write.”
Illiteracy was a source of embarrassment and frustration for Parton’s father. He couldn’t do things like complete forms, scan a newspaper or read to his children.
Thoughts of her father and his struggles were the spark that led to the Imagination Library, as Parton wanted to “Do something that would inspire kids to love reading and to love learning. He never had anyone that inspired him in such a way.”
Today, her program spans five countries and gifts over two million free books each month to children around the world.
And now it is enrolling children ages 0 to 5 years of age in the Henry County, Illinois, area.
After launching the program in 1995, the program grew quickly. First books were only distributed to children living in Sevier County, TN, where Dolly Parton grew up.
Parton said in 2028, “It made me feel good in my heart that I could do something to make Daddy proud.”
The program became such a success that in 2010 a national replication effort was underway. By 2003, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had mailed one million books. It would prove to be the fist of many millions of books sent to children around the world.
Dolly Parton’s home state of Tennessee pledged to pursue statewide coverage in 2004 and global expansion was on the horizon. After the U.S., the program was launched in Canada in 2006, followed by the United Kingdom in 2007; Australia in 2013 and the Republic of Ireland in 2019.
Though Parton didn’t love school, she did enjoy reading as a child. Fairy tales broadened her perspective: “The only thing I ever saw growing up was poor people in overalls and broken shoes and ragged clothes. By in my books, I would read about kings and queens with their velvet clothes and big diamond rings. That’s how I knew there was a world outside the Smoky Mountains.”
Research has shown that exposure to reading at an early age leads to better results in school. And Parton knows that literacy has lifelong benefits…”If you can read, even if you can’t afford education, you can go on and learn about anything you want to know.
There’s a book on everything.”
Parton understands how to spark a child’s excitement around books and reading. “From the time they’re born, they get books in the mail with their little names on them. They love running to the mailbox!”
And she opted to make the Imagination Library available to all children, no matter their family’s financial status. “I have always felt we shouldn’t leave anybody out or single anybody out,” she said in 2010.
Together, Dolly Parton and her book gifting organization have received honors and awards for their dedication to enriching the lives of children everywhere. The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, Best Practices Award from the Library of Congress Literacy Awards and recognition in Reading Psychology are just a few among a long list of the prestigious acknowledgements the program has received.