Family Resources

2024 Book List

Q & A: Imagination Library Program

Braille and Audio Options

Bilingual Books

Coloring Sheet

8 Easy Reading Tips

Partnerships

The Dollywood Foundation

Local Program Partners

Storybook Trails

Ohio’s Foster Care

Impact

Father reading to baby

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio ignites a passion for reading in young children through the building of key emotional relationships and by enhancing cognitive skills, leading to significant educational advancements.

Several Local Program Partners throughout Ohio have conducted research and surveys to measure the impact and success of the Imagination Library program in their communities.

  • Research has shown that children participating in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library are significantly more likely to be ready for kindergarten compared to students who are not participating in the program. Learn More…

  • The University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the Warren County Imagination Library. The analysis utilized costs assumed by the Warren County Imagination Library program illustrating the lifetime economic impact of the program for the community. Learn More…

  • The Center for Community Solutions published an impact report in partnership with the Community Foundation of Lorain County (Lorain County’s affiliate) indicating a high satisfaction and increase in reading among current program participants in Lorain County. Learn More…

The greater access the child has to books in school and at home, the more likely they are able to cultivate an appreciation for diverse experiences and develop empathy for others.
— Reading for Life: The Impact of Youth Literacy on Health Outcomes (Scholastic), Cleaver 2020

96% of parents & 80% of children agree reading aloud with each other is a special time.

— Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report, 2022

Children who read at home are 3x per week are more likely to recognize letters, count to 20, and write their name before entering school.

Reading for Life: The Impact of Youth Literacy on Health Outcomes (Scholastic), Nord 1999

By age three, a child’s brain is already 80% developed.

— Baby’s Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3, The Urban Child Institute

Reading aloud is widely recognized as the single most important activity for enhancing a child’s language and development.

— Family Literacy Programs: Who Benefits (Ohio Library Resource Center), 2020

For every $1 invested in the Imagination Library, the program is estimated to generate an additional $1.61 in net annual economic and societal benefits.

Economic Analysis of the Warren County Imagination Library, 2021

65% of Ohio fourth graders are not reading at a proficient level.

— Kids Data Book - The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2023

Children who read often are less likely to feel nervous, anxious, sad, or lonely compared to those who read infrequently.

— Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report, 2022

Children with at least 25 books in the home complete an average of two more years of schooling than those with no books.

— Tennessee Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation, 2020

61% of US Children living at or below the poverty level have no books in the home.

— Reading is Fundamental