Friday, at the National Governor’s Association semiannual meeting in Portland, Governor Janet Mils announced the State of Maine is launching a statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2023.
The Imagination Library of Maine will mail high-quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth until age five, every month, no matter the family’s income. The program is designed to instill a love of reading in children before the age of 5, which is when the brain is almost 90% developed, according to The Dollywood Foundation. In 2019, about 57 percent of fourth grade students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch scored below proficiency reading levels while 33 percent of students who are not eligible for free or reduced lunch scored below proficiency levels. However, Maine is ranked fifth in the nation for percentage of parents with children aged 0 to 5 who read to their children every day (46.9%)
As part of the recent bipartisan budget, Governor Mills and the Legislature approved a $200,000 investment to implement the program which will be administered by the Maine State Library. The Dollywood Foundation and the Maine State Library will develop an implementation strategy this year with local libraries, community non-profits, the Maine Department of Education, and Maine school systems to establish and expand the program in coming years. By the end of 2023, the State of Maine and the Imagination Library hope to have sent an initial 106,000 books to more than 14,000 across Maine.
“We know the simple act of reading to a child stimulates brain development, reduces stress and anxiety, builds vocabulary, and develops the literacy skills they’ll need to succeed in school and beyond,” said Governor Mills. “Today, we are taking another step forward to help make that happen by delivering books free of charge to Maine kids. Maine is proud to join the family of states that will participate in the Imagination Library. On behalf of all Maine children who will be served by this program in the years to come, I thank the one-and-only Dolly Parton.”
Maine State Librarian James Ritter said “The Maine State Library is excited to be able to administer this program that will eventually connect tens of thousands of families and Maine children with wonderful books sent right to their homes. Working with Maine’s libraries and other organizations, we will have the opportunity to foster and grow generations of young readers through the Imagination Library, and for every child that learns to read, we know we are helping to build a community of lifelong learners.”
