Arkansas Imagination Library

Mission

Arkansas Imagination Library’s (ARIL) mission is to increase early literacy and school readiness in Arkansas by ensuring all young children across the state may participate in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL).  believes reading begins at birth, the benefits of a home library go far beyond the books, and parents/guardians are a child’s first and best teacher. By providing books at no cost to families, the Imagination Library increases childhood literacy rates, fosters a love of books, and promotes a culture of reading among underserved families in high-risk communities of Arkansas.

History of the Program

In 1995, Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month. Today DPIL mails free, high-quality, age-appropriate books to over 3.6 million children each month directly to their home from birth to age five in participating communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. DPIL is now a part of thousands of communities' early education policy. 

Since 2017, ARIL has worked with local communities to grow the program from 54 to all 75 counties; increasing the number of children receiving books, building their own home libraries, each month from 16,700 to over 82,000 today (45% of the total 0-5 population). ARIL serves all families with children, age 0 to 5, currently living in Arkansas. In 2024, ARIL served 109,055 children across the state and mailed over 1 million books. ARIL expects to serve over 120,000 unduplicated children in 2025. Since 2005, ARIL affiliates have mailed over 6 million books to 241,932 children, of which over 135,000 have graduated out of the program "school ready."

Programming

Local program partners are responsible for promoting the program, enrolling children, and securing funds to cover the cost of the books and shipping ($31.20 per child per year) in their counties. That cost is cut in half due to the cost-sharing grant provided by ARIL, in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education. DPIL chooses, sources, negotiates pricing, and ships the books to all registered children. A panel of early childhood literacy experts selects the age-appropriate books, which are organized around themes and concepts, and include two bilingual Spanish-English books per year. However, Arkansas parents can now choose to receive 100% bilingual English/Spanish books! This new option supports early literacy and helps ensure more children in Arkansas can enjoy the magic of reading in both languages. Audio and braille versions of the books are also available. The choices range from time-tested titles like Corduroy by Don Freeman and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, to contemporary classics such as Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney and Newbery Medal winner Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena. Existing partnerships through ARIL and DPIL are utilized to keep costs extremely low and maintain a high return on investment.

Enrolled children receive one new, high-quality, age appropriate book per month until their fifth birthday, at no cost to families. Books are mailed directly to each child, with their name on the label, which makes the book gifting experience special.

Northwest Arkansas Partners

In Northwest Arkansas, ARIL works with several local nonprofits to manage the Imagination Library program for their counties. 

Franklin and Crawford Counties - United Way of Fort Smith Area

Carroll County - Carroll County Youth Literacy Rotary Foundation

Benton, Madison, and Washington Counties - United Way of Northwest Arkansas