State lawmakers are pushing a bill that would expand country singer Dolly Parton’s program that delivers free books to children statewide.
Parton’s Imagination Library Program launched in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1995 and distributes free books once a month to children up to five-years-old, regardless of income. Since then, the program has expanded to Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland. According to its website, two million books are mailed each month globally. According to the program’s website, it does not currently have any chapters in New York’s the Capital Region.
State Sen. Jeremy Cooney and Assemblywoman Karines Reyes are pushing legislative leaders to include $2.5 million in this year’s state budget to expand the program across New York. Currently, the program exists in individual chapters throughout the state. Speaking at a press conference last week at the state Capitol, Cooney said the goal is to get 77% of children in the state enrolled in the program to combat illiteracy. He added the state’s illiteracy rates are “enough to drive you crazy if you let it.”
“Many states have already adopted successful programs as well as localities in New York,” the Rochester Democrat said. “Our bill would streamline the process by having the state step in and develop and promote the Imagination Library.”
In a video played during the press conference, Parton explained that — before he died — her father told her the Imagination Library was the most important thing she’d ever done.
“And I can’t tell you how much that means to me, because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my daddy. Now, he was one of the wisest men I’ve ever known, but I knew in my heart, his inability to read probably kept him from seeing all his dreams come true,” Parton said. “So inspiring kids to love to read became my passion and my mission, because if you can read, you can teach yourself anything.”
United Way of the Greater Capital Region President Peter Gannon explained he was the product of a teen mom who had a high value on education, so she frequently brought him and his siblings to the William K. Sanford Library in Loudonville. He said he is passionate about the program and how it can change lives.
Gannon said, if the bill were to pass and the state were to pick up about half the cost of the program, it would take about $400,000 annually to give all the children in the Capital Region a book once a month. The total cost would be $810,000.
“I’m ready to flip the switch and start this afternoon, because it becomes a game changer for the nonprofit partners that have to administer this program and make sure these books get into the hands of the kids in our community,” Gannon said. “Gov. Hochul, let’s do the right thing for our kids. This is an easy win. A little bit of money up front, but we’re gonna save a lot on the back end and it makes a lot of sense.”