Dolly Parton was a lot of things: music icon, songwriter, actor, businesswoman, philanthropist and, yes, a print-and-mail superstar too.
Until she passed last week, that last one is not what I thought of first when hearing her name. But then again, I didn’t know much at all about the marvel that is her Imagination Library.
It’s a book program that since 1995, has put more than 330 million books into the hands of children.
That’s a lot of print. What stands out to me though, is that these books mean more than just the numbers.
Dolly started the Imagination Library where she grew up, in Sevier County, Tennessee. She had a simple idea: give every preschool child a free, high-quality book every month, regardless of the family’s income.
After 30 years, the program has expanded across the United States as well as to other countries and languages, including Braille. But the basic experience hasn’t changed. A book arrives at a child’s home, addressed to that child, every month. Why it works is pretty similar to how other subscription mail clubs work, but at a much larger scale, and with a broader impact.
Read this full article on Printing Impressions, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
