NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee lawmakers are planning another major tribute to Dolly Parton in 2027, this time by proposing the state take over costs local communities currently pay to participate in her Imagination Library.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Finance Chair Bo Watson announced Tuesday they plan to include funding in Tennessee’s 2027 budget to cover the full local share of mailing Imagination Library books to children across the state.
Currently, it costs $2.60 to mail each book. The Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation covers half of that cost, while counties are responsible for the remaining $1.30 per book.
Under the proposal, the state would cover the full $2.60 mailing cost for each book, removing that expense from counties and the nonprofits that sometimes help cover their share.
That could make a significant difference for local communities.
In Montgomery County, for example, the Imagination Library serves about 10,000 children, each of whom typically receives one book per month. The local share of those mailing costs adds up to roughly $120,000 a year.
How those costs are covered varies by county. In Montgomery County, they rely on several nonprofits, businesses and individuals to raise money to cover the local share. In some more rural counties, the expense is included as a line item in the county budget.
If approved, the state would assume those costs beginning in 2027.
“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is one of Tennessee’s greatest gifts to the next generation,” Sexton said. “What started in Tennessee is now in all 50 states. Millions of children have been inspired and discovered a love of reading because of Dolly.”
Sexton said fully funding the program would help ensure children in every Tennessee county continue to have access to it.
The Imagination Library mails enrolled children a free, age-appropriate book every month from birth until they turn 5. Parton founded the program in Sevier County in 1995 as a tribute to her father, who could not read.
The program has since expanded far beyond Tennessee, distributing more than 332 million books to children around the world.
As of 2025, nearly 70% of Tennessee children were enrolled in the Imagination Library.
“Doing whatever is necessary to improve early literacy has always been a top priority of mine,” Watson said. “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.”
The funding would still need to be approved as part of Tennessee’s 2027 budget.
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
