Imagination Library Kick-off Nome, August 2006
Reading is the single most important activity for school preparation.
Research shows that a child’s capacity to learn is developed very early in life. Literacy skills such as letters, names, shapes, associating sounds with letters, being read to, familiarity with books and associating reading with fun are developed long before a child is able to read. And, educators have long emphasized that parents reading to their preschool-aged children is the single most important activity to prepare a child for school. Entertainer Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library, an early literacy program, to ensure access to age-appropriate books and inspire parents to read to their children. A committee composed of individuals from education, child development, academia and early childhood literacy selected the books for Dolly’s Imagination Library.
Children who are registered for the program receive a book every month until their fifth birthday. If a family has more than one pre-school aged child, each child may participate and receive his/her own library. Books arrive monthly through the mail and are addressed to the child.
In August 2006, the Dollywood Foundation, CIS of Alaska, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (U.S. Department of Justice) collaborated with Nome Public Schools to establish the first CIS sponsored Imagination Library program in Alaska. In October 2006, CIS of Juneau, the Association for the Education of Young Children of Southeast Alaska (AEYC) and CIS of Alaska established an Imagination Library in Juneau.
In addition to Nome and Juneau sites, the Imagination Library is in Wainwright with planned replication in Anchorage, Mat-Su and Girdwood. The Imagination Library has been endorsed by New Beginnings, Rotary District 5010, Weed and Seed of Mountain View and Conoco Phillips. Due to the positive response of participating communities both in state and nationally, CIS of Alaska is taking the lead to assist interested communities in replicating the Imagination Library in their areas.
For more information on replicating an Imagination Library in your community, contact the State Office of Communities In Schools of Alaska at (907) 333-4003. To visit Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, go to www.Imaginationlibrary.com