The New York State Library, part of the New York State Education Department, has awarded Read to Succeed (RTS) a $49,000 grant to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five. 

“Early literacy is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong learning and success, and every child deserves the chance to grow up with a love of books and stories. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library shows the power of putting books directly into children’s hands, and these grants help to extend that gift to families statewide,” said New York State Librarian Lauren Moore. “This program builds on the incredible work happening in libraries across New York, ensuring every child grows up surrounded by the magic of books and the endless possibilities they inspire.”

In April, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced an award to RTS for $105,000 to restart Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. RTSB previously implemented Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library from 2012–2018, mailing nearly 100,000 books to 5,000 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in the city of Buffalo, but funding issues forced the program to end.

“The funding from the New York State Library, in addition to the support from Erie County, enables Read to Succeed to serve more than half the children under five years of age in Erie County,” said Read to Succeed Executive Director Anne Ryan. “By targeting our communities with the most infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, RTS is helping families help their children learn to read, and love to read, at our earliest opportunity!”

Through Read to Succeed’s Imagination Library program, more than 5,200 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from 27 Erie County ZIP codes are receiving an age-appropriate book every month delivered and addressed to them in their home.

Read to Succeed strategically targeted communities with high numbers of children under age five participating in the federal food program known as WIC. The balance of Erie County’s young children are eligible through other Imagination Library sponsors in Erie County, like the Akron and Frontier School Districts.

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world. The Imagination Library mails more than three million high-quality, age-appropriate books directly to children’s homes each month. Each child enrolled in the program receives one book per month from birth to their 5th birthday. 

The impact of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has been widely researched, and the results demonstrate its positive impact on early childhood development and literacy skills. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, please visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/.

In addition to the costs for the books, other costs include postage, return postage for non-deliverable books, recruitment of participating newborns to 55 months, and maintenance of the mailing list.