Colorado Kicks Off Statewide Expansion of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

DENVER- Governor Jared Polis, Education Commissioner Katy Anthes, and the Imagination Library of Colorado joined American icon Dolly Parton to announce the Colorado statewide expansion of her namesake Imagination Library book-gifting program. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books to children (0- 5 yrs old), free of charge through funding shared by the state and local community partners.

"I'm so excited to be working with Governor Polis, the Department of Education, and our Colorado affiliate organization to bring my Imagination Library to more children and families across Colorado! Together we can gift a love of reading that will last a lifetime," said Dolly Parton.

The goal of the statewide expansion is to make books available to children ages 0-5 in every zip code in Colorado. Colorado has 30 programs covering just portions of its 64 counties. Currently, 4 percent of eligible children in the state are receiving books through existing community-based programs. 

“Developing an early love for reading is so important for children’s success, and the Imagination Library shows Colorado’s commitment to making sure that every child and family can succeed,” said Governor Jared Polis. “I’m thrilled that more Colorado children will have access to the books they need to develop a passion for reading and drive their imaginations even further.” 

“Ensuring that students are reading at grade level by third grade is one of our most important priorities here at the Department of Education,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes. “It will be so exciting for children and families to get a book delivered to their home every month, and we know it will help children develop a lifelong love of reading and set them up for success in school. We are so grateful to the partners who are expanding the Imagination Library program statewide, including the governor, the state legislature, the State Board of Education and of course, The Dollywood Foundation.”

“We know the differences that kids show up with when they go to school stay with them for the rest of their lives,” said Sen. Jeff Bridges (D-Arapahoe County), one of the sponsors of the legislation establishing the program. “The Imagination Library is backed by peer-reviewed research demonstrating that the program increases childhood literacy, kindergarten readiness, and the time parents spend reading to their kids.”

In year one of the expansion, the Imagination Library of Colorado will:

• Form partnerships with local community organizations. These local partners are the heart of the program. They promote the program online and at in-person events, fundraise, and enroll children who live within their geographical area. A local program partner must be a 501(c)(3), though several organizations may form a coalition of support and leadership. Examples include businesses, school districts, local foundations, libraries, and service organizations.

• Assist with program start-up and enrollment strategies in local communities.

• Build and sustain strong statewide partnerships to assure long-term sustainability of the overall initiative.

We are grateful for the strong bipartisan effort to ensure that all children in Colorado, from ages zero to five, will have the opportunity to enhance and enrich their lives with books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library,” said Jack Tate, CEO of the Imagination Library of Colorado. “Like a ground-breaking ceremony, we celebrate beginning the hard work ahead forming partnerships with additional community-based organizations so we can get books to all eligible Colorado children.”

Coloradans can learn more about the Colorado program and monitor its progress by visiting https://www.imaginationlibrarycolorado.org.

About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has gifted well over 170 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.9 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit imaginationlibrary.com. 

About the Imagination Library of Colorado

The Imagination Library of Colorado is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, who is the statewide partner of The Dollywood Foundation and its flagship program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.  Funding for the Imagination Library of Colorado comes from the Colorado Department of Education as well as private sources.  The mission of the Imagination Library of Colorado is to increase literacy by ensuring all young children across the state may participate in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library through the development, promotion, growth, and ongoing support of Imagination Library programs in all 64 counties.