Dolly Parton Launched UK Imagination Library in Rotherham, Reaching 6.3 Million Books
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 29
Dolly Parton Launched UK Imagination Library in Rotherham, Reaching 6.3 Million Books
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 29
Summary
Rotherham’s 2007 launch of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library became the starting point for a UK program that has since delivered 6.3 million free books to children across Britain.
The scheme mailed every registered child in Rotherham a book each month until age five, funded by Parton’s foundation alongside the local council and other backers.
Deborah Bullivant, who later led the local program, said early suspicion over “Why Dolly Parton?” gave way to a lasting shift toward reading in homes with little book culture.
Rotherham ended the scheme in 2015 after council support was withdrawn, but the model spread to places including Doncaster, North Lincolnshire, Southwark and Nottingham.
Parton, remembered after her death on Monday, said she felt a personal bond with the post-industrial town; globally, Imagination Library has distributed 300 million books.