Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Statewide Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Update

After 7 years of open registration, Partnership for Children of Lenoir and Greene Counties is unable to accept NEW registrations for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) as of February 1, 2025. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗣𝗜𝗟 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟱.
For updates on DPIL registration, please check back here.

The Smart Start Network understands the importance of getting lots of books to as many young children as possible. The NC Partnership for Children and the Smart Start Network are working hard to secure enough funding to resume DPIL registrations. Currently, Partnership for Children of Lenoir and Greene Counties is providing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) to as many children as our state funding will allow. We are currently seeking donations to support this program.

We encourage you to stay up to date with us on Facebook and Instagram. You can also subscribe to receive emails by emailing NEWSLETTER to partnership@lgpfc.org.
You’ll be the first to know when NEW enrollment reopens!

In the meantime, explore our StoryWalk locations at Pearson Park in Kinston and Greene County Sports Complex in Snow Hill.

We would like to again thank Greene County for donating funds that covered the cost of 2,031 books for Greene County children enrolled since November 2024.

DPIL families: We love hearing which books your children enjoy most! Comment below with your favorite book from the Imagination Library and share what makes DPIL special to you! #DPILMemories #EarlyLiteracyMatters”

  In 1995, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee, USA. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month. By mailing high quality, age-appropriate books directly to their homes, she wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could ensure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income. Smart Start and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library are working together to get books into the hands of North Carolina’s youngest children.  In 2017, North Carolina’s state lawmakers included $3.5 million in the first year and $7 million in the second year of the state budget for Smart Start to administer Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library across North Carolina. The Smart Start network, made up of 75 local partnerships that serve our state’s communities, is signing up families across NC for Imagination Library which is a book gifting program for children from birth to age five. Together, we are working to ensure children develop a love of reading early on. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a program that mails a free book each month to children from birth up until the month of their 5^th birthday. These are high-quality books that are chosen by experts in the education and writing field and are based on the child’s age.

Who Is Eligible?

• All children ages 0-4
• Residents of Lenoir and Greene Counties

What are my responsibilities?

• Submit a Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library registration request; filled out by the parent or guardian. Online registration
• Notify the Partnership for Children of Lenoir and Greene Counties any time the child’s address changes. Children’s books are sent to the address on the registration request.
• Most importantly, read with your child.

• When will my child receive their first book?

  • The first book will arrive within two to three months after the request has been approved by the Partnership for Children of Lenoir and Greene Counties. Children’s books will be mailed monthly, to your home and will continue until the month your child turns five or they no longer reside in the same county.

Enroll Online! (English) Parent Information (Spanish)

We want to hear from you! Please share testimonials, photos, or video of your experiences with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and you may be featured on our social media platforms!