OK, I admit I was just trying to get your attention! But, in a way, she really is coming to our community.

In 1995, Dolly Parton started the Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to children birth to 5 years of age. Beginning in her own home county in Tennessee, the program has now expanded across the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. In fact, the hundred millionth book was just sent out, and the number continues to climb.

Dolly Parton’s program began with her desire for every child, regardless of income, to have access to books in the home. She was inspired by her father who was “the smartest man I have ever known” but never learned to read.

The program is now available in Harney County through the generosity of the James and Shirley Rippey Family Foundation and OTEC (Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative). Here’s how it happened:

Last summer, we received an email stating that the Rippey Foundation  offered to fund 50 percent of the cost of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for small, rural Oregon counties. Normally, the program costs $25 per child per year, so the offer to pay half was quite generous. The Harney County Library Foundation decided this program was worth supporting and they would fund the other half of the cost. However, the OTEC board of directors heard about the program and jumped at the chance to contribute, using their unclaimed capital credits, which are mandated to be returned to the community. To add to this wealth of generosity, OTEC is funding the four-county area it serves, including all of Harney.

We want to sign up every child under 5 in Harney County. Please help by spreading the word. Families can sign up at Harney County Library, the Health Department, Early Childhood Center, DHS, or online at imaginationlibrary.com. It is absolutely free to every child under 5 in this area! Let’s get books in the hands of all young children in Harney County.

Please contact the library, 541-573-6670, if you have questions or want to pick up a registration form.