Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Hastings Memorial Library and the Hastings Memorial Library Foundation are proud to partner with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to get more books into the hands of children in Perkins County.
As a parent or caregiver, reading with your child is one of the most important activities you can engage in to help set them up for success.
Dolly believes that if you can read, you can do anything, dream anything, and be anything. Through her Imagination Library, Dolly wants to ensure every child can feel the magic that books create.
Register your child today and begin receiving one free, high-quality, age-appropriate book each month for your child, birth to age five. These books are personalized with your child’s name and mailed directly to your home to create a one-of-kind gifting experience.
The library’s coverage area includes the zip codes for Grant, Brandon, Elsie, Madrid, Venango, and Wallace. Click the button to take you to the registration page or stop by the library to register in person.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is the flagship program of The
Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Tennessee organization.
The Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by
gifting FREE books to children from birth to age five. The program
is made possible through funding shared by Dolly Parton herself,
and local Program Partners in the United States, Canada,
United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland.
Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly
started the Imagination Library in 1995 to serve the
children of her hometown in Sevier County, Tennessee.
Today, her program spans five countries and gifts over
3 million free, high-quality, age-appropriate books each
month to children around the world. There is never
a charge to families who participate in the program
and it is open to all children under the age of five in
geographic areas with operating programs.
Having books in the home is crucial for a child’s academic, social, and emotional development. Reading together fosters a unique bond between children and their parents or caregivers. The Imagination Library extends this impact globally by providing books to children worldwide, free of charge, nurturing their minds and hearts.
- Ninety percent of physical brain development occurs in the first three years of life, when a baby forms over 1 million new neural connections per second.
- When a young child enters kindergarten ready for school, there is an 82% chance that the child will master basic skills by age 11, compared with a 45% chance for children who are not school-ready.
- Later in life, at-risk children who do not receive high-quality early childhood experiences are 25% more likely to drop out of school, 40% more likely to become teen parents, and 60% less likely to attend college.
- Investment in high-quality early childhood programs for at-risk children from birth to age five delivers a 7-10% annual return on investment through improved education, health, social and economic outcomes, increased productivity, and the reduced need for social spending.
They are chosen by the Imagination Library’s Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee which consists of early childhood professionals who lend their expertise in choosing the perfect set of age-appropriate books for hundreds of thousands of children across the U.S.
Depending on what time of the month your register, your first book will usually arrive in 6 – 8 weeks and then each month thereafter until your child’s 5th birthday.
Start up funds for Perkins County’s Imagination Library program were provided by the Hastings Memorial Library Foundation, Midwest Electric, and Highline Electric with matching funds from CoBank and Basin Electric.
The HML Foundation has pledged annual support for the program to continue, but gratefully accepts any donations to support the future of Imagination Library in our communities. A donation of $31 would fully sponsor a year’s worth of books for one child.
You can donate by check at the library, or mail a check to the library at 505 Central Ave. PO Box 786, Grant, NE 69140 Attn: Director’s Office. Please make checks out to the Hastings Memorial Library Foundation. If you would like your donation to remain anonymous, just let us know!
