Dolly Parton’s philanthropic Imagination Library had a proven effect in Australia, and around the world

Dolly Parton had first-hand experience of the effects of limited literacy.

Her father could not read or write.

He was, she once said, the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams.

This sentiment fuelled her passion for encouraging childhood literacy.

It drove her to establish the Imagination Library, with the goal of inspiring “a love of reading and learning from a young age”.

Launched in 1995, the Imagination Library sends children enrolled in the program a free, age-appropriate, culturally inclusive book in the mail every month from birth until their fifth birthday.

The program began in Sevier County, Tennessee – Parton’s home county – before spreading across the world.

It has established roots in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Ireland.

To date, the Imagination Library has distributed 318 million books, with 3.4 million books sent out monthly across these regions.

The Australian program was officially launched in 2013 and now operates in more than 430 locations.

Currently, nearly 50,000 Australian children are receiving a free book every month.

Building foundational skills For the past five years, I have been working firstly on a research project in Tamworth into the effects of the Imagination Library program.

As Head of Research at United Way Australia, distributors of the Imagination Library in Australia, I am not involved in the delivery of the program itself.

All the data I analysed was de-identified.