San Francisco becomes a newest local partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Bay Area to offer free books to all young children

SAN FRANCISCO — As one of Mayor Daniel Lurie’s agendas is to advance and invest in early learning for young children, the City of San Francisco has provided funds to become the newest local partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in the Bay Area to offer a free book every month to every child aged 0 to 5 who signs up for the program.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was founded in 1995 by Dolly Parton, a worldwide icon of country music singer, songwriter and philanthropist, at her home county Sevier in Tennessee where she grew up. Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Parton created and established Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library under her Dollywood Foundation to foster a love of reading by giving books free of charge to all preschool children from birth to age five.

Parton was born in Tennessee and is the fourth of 12 children to her parents. Her father worked in the mountains of East Tennessee first as sharecropper and later tending his own small farm. He was not able to go to school and became illiterate. Patron created the Imagination Library as a tribute to her father who was the smartest man in her eyes. “I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams,” Parton wrote in her open letter.

The Imagination Library operates through a simple model by working with local partners. Families first enroll their children online, literacy experts select age-appropriate books, and the books are mailed directly to families each month until the children’s 5th birthday.

By 2003, eight years after the launch, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had mailed one million books to young children. By January 2026, a total of 307,982,906 books were given to over 3 million young children worldwide.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025. Parton just celebrated her 80th birthday on January 19, 2026.

For the past 30 years since the Imagination Library was launched, the free book program for all young children has grown quickly and expanded nationwide as well as four more countries, Canada in 2006, followed by the United Kingdom in 2007, Australia in 2013 and the Republic of Ireland in 2019.

The Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library operates in partnership with local communities that provide funds in distributing free books to children and their families.

In September 2025, Mayor Lurie, Department of Early Childhood and San Francisco Public Library launched the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program for the first time in San Francisco, while Parton’s book gifting organization celebrated its 30th anniversary in serving the children community with free books around the world.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the City and County of San Francisco followed the Santa Clara Library District, the Foundation of San Mateo County Libraries, First 5 Santa Cruz County, Housing Authority of Alameda, Berkeley Baby Book Project and some others to establish joint partnerships with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for serving young children in their local communities.

“With Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, every young child in San Francisco will have the chance to experience the joy and power of books. This program strengthens our investment in the next generation of San Franciscans and ensures they have the tools they need to thrive in school,” said Lurie when he announced the historic launch of the free book program for all preschool age children in the City.

The brand new partnership also marked the first time in 30-year history of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library that registration forms are offered in Chinese and Filipino languages in addition to English and Spanish. The City said the multi-lingual registration would strengthen San Francisco’s nationwide leadership in equitable access to early learning.

For launching the book gifting program with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, San Francisco backed with $1 million over five years and the California State Library provided a 50% cost match to make the program happen. It is expected that the 5-year program will serve 60,000 children by 2030 and play a role in expanding kindergarten readiness across the city.

According to the census data in 2020, San Francisco residents who were children aged 0-17 made up only about 13% of the City’s total population that was one of the lowest percentages of children among major cities across the nation. The children population was estimated at 113,227 in 2020. Young children aged 0-5 were 46,475 among all 113,227 children in 2020.

“Every child born in the City deserves to have the best start to life, including being surrounded by books,” said Ingrid Mezquita, Executive Director of the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood. “By launching the Imagination Library, we are providing the resources necessary for families across our city to access stories that spark imagination, reflect their culture, strengthen family bonds, and build critical early literacy skills.”

San Francisco City Librarian Michael Lambert echoed. “By delivering free books directly into the hands of our youngest residents, we are nurturing a love of reading from the very beginning,” said Lambert. “This program reflects our deep commitment to literacy and the joy of lifelong learning.”

There is no cost to families and no renewals required for the parents who sign up for the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program in San Francisco.

The enrollment has been expanded by the City to meet San Francisco’s Language Access Ordinance (LAO) by offering registration in Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino. Books are currently available in English and Spanish that were part of the English/Spanish Book Option program launched by the Imagination Library in 2024 as a national project for promoting young children reading bilingual books.

As of December 19, 2025, 7,243 children in San Francisco have been receiving their monthly free books through the City’s joint partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, according to the Department of Early Childhood that manages the book gifting program in San Francisco.

Rose Chung, Board Chair of APA Family Support Services, commended the launch of the Imagination Library in San Francisco. “It is wonderful news that the City is investing in our future generation. When a child opens a book, they open their mind to new ideas and their heart to new dreams. Reading expands what they can imagine today and shapes what they can become tomorrow,” said Chung.

“Every child deserves the joy—and the lifelong advantage—of growing up with books at home. This free monthly book program is a powerful way to support our bilingual and immigrant families by building early language, confidence, and connection between parents and young children,” said Fanny Lam, Executive Director of APA Family Support Services.

“At APA Family Support Services, we’re grateful for this investment in our community—because reading together from the very beginning strengthens brain development, school readiness, and family bonds, one story at a time,” Lam added, who is also an advocate for children services.

“Reading is always helpful for all ages in physical and mental health, there is no exception for young children,” said Doris Tseng, retired librarian and former Director of Chinese Center at the San Francisco Main Library. “Reading is encouraged to be introduced to children the earlier the better. Parents can read to their newborn children although the young babies might not be able to read yet. The babies will benefit throughout their lifetime”

“As a whole, reading would motivate thinking, improve writing, expand skills, strengthen focus and on and on to make the brain to be active that will benefit everyone, including our very young children,” Tseng said in strong support of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program.

“The real heroes of our story are the thousands of local organizations who have embraced my dream and made it their own. They raise millions of dollars each year and wake up every day with a passion to make sure their kids have every opportunity to succeed,” Parton wrote in her open letter, “Let’s share this dream that all children should grow up in a home full of books.”

______________________________

Portia Li is the editor and publisher of Wind Newspaper. Prior to co-founding the Wind Newspaper in 2020, Portia was a senior and investigative reporter for over three decades at the San Francisco Bureau of World Journal. She was born and raised in Hong Kong, educated in Taiwan and the United States. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from National Chengchi University of Taiwan and a master’s degree in Mass Communication from Utah State University. In 2021, Portia was a recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Northern California Chapter’s Career Achievement Award in Print. She can be reached at [email protected].