Dolly Parton’s father, Robert Lee Parton, could not read or write. His experience inspired her to help children get books early—starting in the Tennessee county where she grew up.
When she founded the Imagination Library in Sevier County in 1995, the original book order totaled 1,760 books.
By September 2026, the program had gifted more than 330 million books across five countries. What began with her father’s experience had become a monthly delivery for children far beyond East Tennessee.
The offer to families is still easy to understand: one age-appropriate book mailed to a child’s home each month, free to keep.
There’s no trip to a pickup location for each new title. No due date to remember. Once the book arrives, it belongs to the child.
Behind that simple delivery is a partnership that gave other communities a way to do what Dolly started. Her inspiration launched the program. Keeping it going, month after month, has taken local organizations, donors and a system built to handle the details.
A Book Each Month, Starting Before School
The program was founded in 1995, with the first book gifts following in 1996, according to the Dollywood Foundation’s timeline.
For a family receiving those books, the benefit was something they could hold onto. A child could build a collection at home, one delivery at a time.
The books could stay within reach for another reading tomorrow. A favorite could come out again at bedtime or go into a bag for a visit with grandparents.
And household income does not determine eligibility. The program’s purpose reaches beyond helping families who cannot afford books: it makes books available early, with a new one arriving regularly.
That distinction matters when families are deciding whether to register. They do not need to rule themselves out because they already own books or can afford to buy them.
Registration starts at birth. A baby doesn’t have to understand the words yet for a parent or grandparent to begin reading aloud.
The monthly delivery also removes the task of choosing and ordering every title. The program selects age-appropriate books, and families get something new to open together.
For families looking for other ways to explore and learn without an admission bill, our guide to free museums in Nashville offers places to consider for an outing.
How One County’s Idea Spread
The Imagination Library began expanding nationally in 2000. By 2001, it had 27 local affiliates in 11 states.
Those communities had a system to join.
As the official U.S. program page explains, the Dollywood Foundation handles book selection, wholesale purchasing, registration tools and coordination of the mailings. Local partners promote the program, enroll children and raise money for books and shipping.
That division of work helps explain how the idea could travel.
A local organization did not have to build a book-selection and mailing operation from the beginning. It could concentrate on reaching families and securing funding while using an established system to get books selected and delivered.
Both sides were necessary. Having books ready to mail would accomplish little if local families did not know they could register. Enrolling children would not keep deliveries coming without money for the books and postage.
The local commitment continues long after the first registrations. More children are born. Families move into the area. Others move away and need their addresses updated.
Then the next month’s books need funding.
This is what makes the program more than a one-time book giveaway. The delivery repeats, and the people supporting it have to keep going, too.
For parents, much of that work happens out of sight. What they see is the result: another book arriving at home.
Tennessee Reached All 95 Counties
Tennessee announced its statewide partnership in 2004. By June 2006, local affiliates had launched in all 95 counties.
That gave the program a statewide reach in the place where it began. Families beyond Sevier County could enroll through their own local programs.
Today, the statewide partner is the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation, previously known as the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation.
Under the arrangement described in its September 2026 notice, state-supported funding through the foundation covers half of book and mailing costs. County partners raise the other half.
Families pay nothing, but every free delivery has costs behind it.
The 50/50 arrangement spreads those costs between statewide support and county fundraising. Local contributions help pay for an ongoing service, with another round of books headed out the following month.
For a parent or grandparent, the practical point is simpler: Tennessee has coverage in every county, but children still need to be registered.
Living in a county with an active program does not automatically put a child on the mailing list.
From Tennessee to Five Countries
Canada joined the Imagination Library in 2006, followed by the United Kingdom in 2007. Australia followed in 2013, and the Republic of Ireland in 2019.
Together with the United States, those became the five countries participating in the program.
As the program spread, its book count reached milestones far beyond its original Sevier County order.
In February 2018, its 100 millionth book was dedicated to the Library of Congress. The title was Parton’s own Coat of Many Colors.
The Library of Congress also documented a nickname some children had given her: “the book lady.”
It’s a fitting description from children who know her through the books arriving at their homes. Her music may be familiar to their parents and grandparents, while those deliveries give younger children a connection of their own.
By the program’s 30th anniversary in 2025, it had passed 300 million books gifted. A September 2026 announcement from the Dr. Seuss Foundation placed the cumulative total above 330 million.
That figure counts books, not individual children. A child enrolled for several years receives many deliveries, with each book contributing to the total.
The milestone describes decades of repeated mailings. Behind the large number are individual collections growing on shelves, beside beds and in baskets at home.
The scale has changed enormously. The experience remains personal: a book arrives addressed to a child, and that child gets to keep it.
How Tennessee Families Can Sign Up
Start with the official Imagination Library availability checker. Enter the child’s actual home address and follow the local program’s instructions.
Using the correct address helps connect the registration with the program serving that child’s home.
A parent or legal guardian should complete registration for each eligible child under five. Register siblings separately so each can receive their own books. Signing up one child does not enroll the others in the household.
Registration is available from birth, giving children more time to receive books before they turn five. There is no need to wait until a child recognizes letters or starts preschool.
Allow time for the first delivery. Hamilton County specifically advises families to expect eight to 12 weeks; check with your local partner about its guidance.
That estimate is worth remembering after submitting a registration. The first book does not necessarily arrive the following month.
Families needing help with registration can ask about other options. Knox County, for example, offers paper forms in English and Spanish, registration at public library locations and telephone assistance.
Those are Knox County’s options, so families elsewhere should ask their own local partner what help is available.
Once enrolled, keep the child’s address current. Knox County warns that the post office does not automatically forward these books.
When you move, contact the local partner to update the registration. Don’t assume that changing your address for other mail will also change where the next book goes.
