Dolly Parton's legacy lives on with Imagination Library literacy program in New Jersey
LINDEN, New Jersey (WABC) -- Dolly Parton was more than a music legend. She was also a philanthropist who spent decades giving away millions of books to children through her Imagination Library literacy program.
The Little Engine That Could is the first book every child receives when enrolled in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
"We give a free book every month from birth until the age of five, to people who live in our community," said Theresa Villani, president of Friends of Linden Library.
Linden is the first and only community in New Jersey so far to offer the program, which launched 20 years ago and was inspired by Parton's father, who did not learn to read as a child.
"He was one of the wisest men I'd ever known but I knew in my heart this inability to read probably kept him from seeing all his dreams come true," Parton said.
The program is fully funded by private donors and local nonprofits that work with libraries.
"Dolly Parton really encourages us to foster a love of books and a love of reading, and that's what we're trying to give to the community. If you give children their own books, there's a sense of ownership, and it gives them a sense of agency over what they do with their time," Villani said.
The program's presence in Linden is reflected in the library's children's room, where a life-sized image of Parton greets young readers. Children enrolled in the program keep the books they receive, while many continue returning to the library for more.
"You can just see the joy in their eyes when they're running around the stacks, picking items, going to the circulation desk, taking 20 books home in addition to that one book they get a month from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library," said Josh Melissari, director of the Linden Public Library.
Supporters say the philanthropic initiative was designed to endure and continue serving families.
"It has been independent of Dolly Parton herself. It has plans to go on. It's not going to stop with Dolly," Villani said.
Parton's belief in literacy remains at the heart of the program.
"If you can read you can teach yourself anything," Parton said.
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