Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Launches in San Francisco

Any San Francisco kid under the age of 5 can get a free book mailed to them every month under a new partnership announced Friday by city officials and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

To promote the city’s participation in the country star’s popular book gifting program, Mayor Daniel Lurie got on the floor of the central library’s children’s book room and read Llama Llama Red Pajama to a group of preschoolers.

“We know that when a child has access to even one book, their chance of being on track in literacy almost doubles,” he told the children, their parents and teachers who gathered to hear the announcement.

“We want them to discover reading early and to build a foundation that will carry them through school and through life,” he said. “With the Imagination Library, each book represents possibility. Each book moves a child closer to success.”

Dolly Parton launched the program 30 years ago to inspire children to read as early as possible. The program has expanded to every state in the nation, and overseas to Canada, Australia and the U.K.

In 2022, California lawmakers approved spending $68 million to establish the Imagination Library in every county in the state. The fund covers 50% of the costs for purchasing and mailing the books, while local partners — in this case, San Francisco’s public library and Department of Early Childhood — cover the other portion. The city and county will spend $1 million to serve about 60,000 children over the next five years.

The Dollywood Foundation manages the ordering system, negotiates wholesale prices for the books and passes the discount on to participating programs. That means in California, it costs $15.50 per year to mail books to each child, according to Hallie Anderson, community engagement coordinator for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in California.

Anderson said California has more than 2 million children under the age of 5, making it a massive undertaking to try to reach every child. San Francisco is the 41st of 58 California counties to partner with Parton’s nonprofit, and Anderson hopes to grow the program. Usually, when the books reach kids in every county in a state, Parton shows up in person to celebrate.

“We are eagerly working to make that happen and have Dolly here in California,” she said.

California is also the first state in the Imagination Library’s network to offer books in English and Spanish. Michael Lambert, San Francisco’s Librarian, said he wants to add books in Chinese, Tagalog and other languages to reflect the city’s diverse population.

A panel of early childhood literacy experts chooses books that correspond with the child’s age. Kids under one receive sturdy board books with nursery rhymes, while those about to turn 2 might get books that focus on colors, letters and numbers.

The first book that all children will receive in the mail, addressed to them, is The Little Engine That Could.

“It’s a classic,” Anderson said, “and it really sets the tone for the program, which is exploring a whole new world of reading and believing in that journey, ‘I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.’”

When kids are about to turn 5, the last book sent to them will be Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! to mark the next chapter of their learning journey.

To begin receiving free books, families can enroll at their local public library branch or online.