Partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides free books to Montana children up to age five in every Montana zip code.

HELENA, MT – Advancing her initiatives as Montana’s first lady, Susan Gianforte on June 11th, announced the progress of her statewide expansion of the Imagination Library of Montana in partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The non-profit program boosts early childhood literacy by providing free high-quality, age-appropriate books to Montana children.

“It is exciting to see how Imagination Library continues to spread across Montana and inspire a love of reading in our state’s youngest readers,” First Lady Susan Gianforte said. “Our local partners have done a fantastic job helping families get enrolled and spreading the word that this program is available to all Montana children up to age 5. I look forward to seeing its continued growth and impact.”

Last June, the first lady joined Dolly Parton in announcing the statewide expansion of Imagination Library in Montana. Through the partnership, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides a free book each month to any Montana child, up to age five, who is registered with the organization. A child may be registered at imaginationlibrary.com.

Prior to launching the initiative, the program was only available in some Montana counties and approximately 9,500 Montana children were enrolled. Today, Imagination Library of Montana has 63 local program partners in all 56 counties serving nearly 24,000 of the state’s eligible children.

Montana is the sixteenth state to achieve statewide coverage of the program.

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has gifted over 200 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. This is achieved through funding shared by The Dollywood Foundation and Local Program Partners. The Imagination Library mails more than 2 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to enrolled children up to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading and inspiring children to Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be More.

The program has been widely researched, and results demonstrate its positive impact on early childhood development and literacy skills. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Boosting literacy to empower more Montana children and promoting and expanding access to STEM education, particularly for girls and students in our rural communities, are the first lady’s chief initiatives.

For more information, or to register a child, please visit imaginationlibrary.com.