County kids can now access Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Books are tailored to a child’s developmental age, covering appropriate key themes and concepts beginning from rhyme, rhythm and lullabies centered stories for those under 1, to more complex, imagination-driven stories in preparation for elementary school. Unique to California, interested families can opt to receive bilingual English and Spanish books, increasing the accessibility of literacy. The program is available to any families regardless of income level.

In just over one week since it was made available to sign up for the service, more than 1,500 families have registered to receive books in as soon as six to eight weeks, said Caiti Busch, chair of the foundation for San Mateo County Libraries who helped establish the program locally.

“It feels like one of the most impactful things I’ll be involved in,” Busch said.

Partnered with the San Mateo County Libraries, the program was established with the belief that literacy is critical for young children, promoting preschool readiness and intellectual and emotional success.  

“There’s no more tangible, better way to improve literacy for children than to provide books, and to have those books not just at the library, but mailed directly to the child with their name on it,” Busch said. 

The Foundation for San Mateo County Libraries helped make the program available for county residents as a way to have more equitable accessibility to books, which requires, at times, to meet families outside of the library. 

“Our libraries are places where everyone is welcome, but not everyone can always come,” Busch said. “If we can just get the kids signed up, we can get them these books, and we can start to really have an impactful meaningful effect on their lives.”

The Foundation for San Mateo County Libraries has worked in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for over a year to make sure the service had a solid foundation from which to launch, knowing they would quickly get a large influx of kids registered. 

There are around 40,000 children ages 5 and under in the county that are eligible to receive books, and Busch said the foundation is committed to reaching as many of those children as possible. 

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library covers the majority of the “overhead” costs, leaving local partners, such as county libraries, to supplement costs for the books themselves. To serve a child for a year, gifting 12 books directly to their doorstop, it costs local partners less than $28. For the first five years of the program’s implementation with a local agency, the state and Imagination Library organization will match funds, Busch said, stretching the impact of $28 to two children for a year.

“The program really sells itself in a way,” Busch said. “It is such an amazing way to convert money to real tangible impacts.” 

The foundation’s funding comes from individuals, private corporations, grant making institutions, and anyone interested in contributing to the cause. 

“We’re raising funds from as many corners of the community that we possibly can because, ultimately, this program serves children everywhere in our community,” Busch said. “That’s the goal, to get as many children signed up as we possibly can.”

Kids who may not have any books at all by the end of the program, could have 60 books. And then, the impact can continue exponentially, Busch said. 

“The goal is to start seeing, in our Friends of the Library stores and in our little lending libraries, Dolly Parton Imagination Library books that go from one kid to the next,” Busch said.  

Visit www.investinsmcl.org to donate to the Foundation for San Mateo County Libraries. Families interested in receiving books can visit www.smcl.org/imagination-library to register.