CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – We all know the importance of learning and especially how you should never stop learning throughout your life.
One of the best ways to learn is through reading, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has that covered for children.
Our Giving Grace feature is going to share details about the history and growth of the Imagination Library from its beginnings in Tennessee to a global organization, and of course our very own Imagination Library of Montgomery County.
Imagination Library came from the heart and mind of entertainer Dolly Parton and started in Sevier County, Tennessee in 1995. Parton felt that the seeds of children’s dreams could often be found in books and started a program where kids would receive books on a regular basis.
The idea quickly spread across Tennessee as other communities wanted to be a part of the program and today there are hundreds of affiliates around the U.S. as well as other countries.
Karen Morrow, one of the Program Coordinators with the local organization said the program sends a free book to any child enrolled in the program from birth to age five every month so that the child will have many books in their library when they reach kindergarten.
Morrow said Imagination Library began sending out free books to kids in Montgomery County in 2006. As of June 2020, they have sent out 1,049,153 free books and graduated 18,728 children.
Tennessee is unique because it also has the Governors Early Literacy Foundation, formerly called the Governors Birth from Books, which helps with half of the funding for the books with the local affiliates funding the other half which averages to a little over one dollar a book.
Morrow said there are several different ways to enroll in the Imagination Library with the easiest being online at the governorsfoundation.org/enroll or you can print out an enrollment form and send it to the Montgomery County Public Library.
“In Tennessee, the books go to any child that enrolls and it doesn’t matter if they reach any other requirements. We just want children to have books to read,” said Morrow.
Morrow added the books will be different for each child depending on when they were born. The books are all high-quality and will start with board books with bright pictures and as they get older more words will appear in the books.
Each book, which is picked out by experts in children’s literature, will come with reading tips for parents and activities for after the book is read. Children always receive The Little Engine that Could as their first book and Watch Out Kindergarten, Here I Come as their graduation book.
“There’s nothing like crawling up in your parents lap, your grandparents lap, or even snuggling next to your sibling and having them read you a story. You’re hearing words, you’re creating relationships, and you really can’t put a price on that,” Morrow said.
The local community can show its support for the Imagination Library by making direct donations online, at the governorsfoundation.org/give, and specify Montgomery County, or send a check to the Imagination Library of Montgomery County at the Montgomery County Public Library, 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 501, Clarksville, TN. 37040.
To learn more about the Imagination Library of Montgomery County, call the Montgomery County Public Library at 931-648-8826.