Imagination Library Expands Statewide
Dolly Parton started the Imagination Library book gifting program because her father couldn’t read. Many families in her community owned no books despite the number of books in the home being correlated with school achievement. Babies, toddlers and preschoolers enrolled in the program receive up to 60 personally addressed books by the time they go to kindergarten at no cost to the family regardless of income.
Retired educators Barbara and Loren Nelson were inspired to start the Imagination Library of Grant County, New Mexico’s first private affiliate of the Imagination Library in December 2010. Their first book order included 8 children living in Bayard, but the Nelson’s were so successful in registering children and fundraising for the books, that they quickly covered all of Grant County and sent books to 80% of local kids 0-4 years old.
The Dollywood Foundation asked the Nelsons to spearhead a statewide expansion effort and then State Senator Howie Morales led the way by committing $100,000 in state funds to reimburse local program partners up to 50% of book costs. Priscilla Lucero with Southwest Council of Governments administered the program, while the Imagination Library of Grant County (ILGC) worked to establish program partners in all 33 counties by providing training, seed money and support.
Over the last 10 years, New Mexico’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) has increased the budget to accommodate the program’s growth and reimburse local programs 80% of book costs. Over 30,000 children in every New Mexico zip code are now receiving Imagination Library books in their mailboxes each month.
The books serve as a powerful prompt for adults to read to the young children in their care. Studies show that reading 20 minutes every day will expose students to over a million words per year, and those students usually test in the 90th percentile for reading proficiency. ILGC Executive Director Nancy Stephens says, “Sharing stories with little ones helps them associate reading and learning with being loved by their parents and grandparents.”
ILGC partnered with WNMU to do a local longitudinal study that showed that recipients of Imagination Library books scored higher than their peers on reading proficiency tests in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades. In homes receiving Imagination Library books, daily reading with children nearly doubled from 17% to 33%.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Friday, May 30th to expand the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program. The executive order increases state support for the program, allows access to bilingual books in English and Spanish and paves the way for a celebratory visit with Dolly Parton in August.
The signing event included Lt. Governor Howie Morales, Early Childhood Education and Care Department Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky, Dollywood Foundation Regional Director Michelle Anthony, Southwest Council of Governments Executive Director Priscilla Lucero, Imagination Library of Grant County Executive Director Nancy Stephens, and families who are current and past recipients of the Imagination Library. Dolly Parton was not in attendance but was represented by a life-sized cutout. See photo.
With an additional $1 million in funding for FY26, the program will be able to serve 60,000 children in every zip code across New Mexico. To date, nearly 2 million books have been mailed to families statewide. This investment has made Barbara and Loren Nelson’s dream come true by offering Imagination Library books to all children in New Mexico.
New Mexico joins 20 other states offering Imagination Library programs statewide, following Tennessee’s pioneering 2004 effort. Learn more at www.imaginationlibrary.com .
Download Dolly Parton's video celebrating New Mexico at the following link: https://we.tl/t-vGJYIjiC7C
