Tennessee Leaders Pledge to Fully Fund Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in State Budget
Tennessee Today
(Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library)
On Tuesday, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senator Bo Watson announced their pledge to fully fund Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Tennessee by the state government.
For over 30 years, the Imagination Library has mailed children’s books each month, from birth until age 5, straight to their doorstep. To date, the Imagination Library has gifted over 304 million books, with 1 in 7 children under the age of 5 in America receiving a book each month.
Dolly Parton stated on the Imagination Library website, “Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission. In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county, but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over 3 million children.”
Now, following Dolly Parton’s passing on August 25, 2026, Tennessee leaders are pledging to keep her mission going, utilizing available funding in the state budget, which the Republican lawmakers credited the availability of funds to “the state’s balanced budget and fiscal responsibility,” to fully fund the Tennessee arm of the program.
In the press release, Speaker Sexton called Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library “one of Tennessee’s greatest gifts to the next generation.” Senator White added that, “Doing whatever is necessary to improve early literacy has always been a top priority of mine. Dolly Parton has always been a pioneer in the movement to improve children’s lives through books and reading, and she has left a lasting legacy on the country. We are honored to continue the work she started through her Imagination Library.”
This proposal to fully fund Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will be considered in Tennessee’s 2027 budget.
The pledge to continue the Imagination Library comes alongside various other efforts to remember Dolly Parton’s legacy, including a push to rename BNA airport after the country legend and the addition of a Dolly Parton commemorative helmet sticker to every University of Tennessee football player’s uniform this season, among others.