Gov. Holcomb next to a Dolly Parton cutout at the Indiana State Library. Courtesy - Gov. Holcomb’s Flickr.
INDIANAPOLIS – Hoping to pour up a few extra cups of reading ambition for Hoosier kids, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library officially expanded to all of Indiana on Thursday. The program gifts free, high-quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five on a monthly basis, regardless of family income.
Although some Hoosier municipalities already participate in the Imagination Library, Gov. Holcomb included a statewide expansion in his 2023 legislative agenda.
The General Assembly earmarked $6 million for the program in the state’s new biennial budget — $2 million in the first year and $4 million in the second — to ensure that all Hoosier kids qualify to receive free books.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead — a lot of catching up to do,” Holcomb said during a kickoff event Thursday at the Indiana State Library. “Our kiddos have got to learn to read, so they can read to learn. That couldn’t be more important than it is today.”
The Indiana State Library will coordinate the program and provide the state’s match to interested organizations or individuals to become local program partners. Currently, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is available in 54 counties and partially available in eight others.
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