An international committee, with the help of Penguin Group USA, selected the book titles to ensure that every child gets the best books possible. Every book delivered to a child’s home, is the collective result of many individual efforts from the person who hands out a registration form to the person who enters a child’s information into the database.
Communities across the nation represent thousands of local organizations, combining the generosity of donors, corporate sponsors and early childhood literacy supporters to make a difference. In 2005, we saw more local school systems and civic organizations come aboard Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The United Way continued to be an important partner in the ongoing network as they connected local businesses, Chambers of Commerce, Success by 6 strategies, and members of the educational community.
Imagination Library's first venture into a statewide program across Tennessee was led by the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation (GBBF) and included all Tennessee counties.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library celebrated another year of exponential growth. The number of communities soared from 385 to 566 and the total number of books given for the year virtually doubled to 1.9 million. In December, the total number of children enrolled in the program crossed the 200,000 threshold.
