WQIO Ohio's Super Station
The death of country music legend Dolly Parton at age 80 is being felt far beyond the music industry, including through a literacy program that has reached children throughout Ohio.
Parton died August 25 following what her family described as a brief battle with cancer. Her legacy includes Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides children with a free, age-appropriate book every month from birth until their fifth birthday.
The program has been available statewide in Ohio since August 2019, and today any Ohio child from birth through age five can enroll at no cost to their family.
The Ohio program operates through a partnership between local organizations and the statewide Imagination Library effort. Local partners cover half of the cost of the books in their counties, while Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio matches the other half. The program now works with more than 75 local partners across all of Ohio’s counties.
That includes Knox and Richland counties, where local organizations help connect families with the program.
Parton’s literacy legacy also has a physical presence in the region through Storybook Trails. The trails combine outdoor recreation and early literacy by allowing families to walk along a designated path while reading a children’s book page by page.
The concept reflects one of the central ideas behind Parton’s Imagination Library: making books accessible to children and encouraging families to develop a love of reading at an early age.
The national Imagination Library has now distributed more than 330 million books to more than three million children worldwide, according to the Harris County Public Library’s tribute to Parton following her death.
Ohio officials are also recognizing Parton’s impact. Gov. Mike DeWine ordered flags lowered Wednesday in her honor, citing her influence and her literacy work.
While Parton’s career produced decades of music, movies and business ventures, her literacy work may ultimately be one of her most enduring legacies — including for Ohio children who grew up receiving a new book in the mail every month.
