New York state is launching a book-buying program tied to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library as a tribute to the late country music legend’s literacy legacy.
The state Office of Children and Family Services is seeking two proposals from not-for-profit entities, including school districts and hospitals, to partner in purchasing books from Parton’s charity, according to a solicitation posted last week. The state will cover 50% of costs up to $50,000 per award, plus mailing expenses, to provide eligible children under age 5 with one book per month. Winning bidders must shoulder the remaining costs and enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to participate.
Parton, 80, died on Aug. 25 after a short bout with cancer. The beloved singer started her Imagination Library in 1995 for children in her home county in Tennessee, inspired by her father, who was illiterate.
“Before he passed away, my Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done,” Parton wrote on her website.
“I can’t tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy.”
Parton continued: “He was 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.”
The program expanded far beyond Tennessee with government support, reaching the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland. According to the Imagination Library website, 332.4 million books have been distributed since its inception, with nearly 3.2 million children currently registered. One in six children in the US have received books from the program.
About 170,000 New York children now receive monthly books through the program, said state Sen. Jeremy Cooney, a Rochester Democrat who has annually pushed for state grants to fund Parton’s Imagination Library.
“Dolly’s impact extends far beyond her musical talent, with her Imagination Library providing free monthly books to over 170,000 children in New York, supporting childhood literacy and bringing joy to families,” Cooney said. He is also pushing to designate Sept. 25 as Dolly Parton Day in New York.
The state’s commitment to Parton’s literacy mission runs deep enough that hospitals have previously sought to deliver books to parents of newborns. In a prior solicitation from March, one bidder outlined plans to enroll every child delivered at their facility.
“I am considering applying for your Solicitation of Interest for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, on behalf of a children’s hospital. I envision enrolling every child delivered at our hospital and admitted to the Mother-Baby Unit within the one-year time frame,” the bidder wrote.
Parton herself regarded the children’s library as her most enduring achievement beyond her decades of success as an award-winning singer and entertainer.
The Imagination Library handles administrative costs and negotiates better prices with children’s publishers for its supply, allowing partner organizations to focus on distribution. The new state solicitation continues a partnership model that has already put books into the hands of thousands of New York families.
Cooney’s annual advocacy for state grants has helped sustain and grow the program’s reach across New York, making the new solicitation part of a broader legislative commitment rather than a one-time gesture.
The winning bidders under the new program will join a network of local partners that have made the Imagination Library one of the most successful literacy initiatives in modern history.