Dolly Parton, the "Queen of Country" singing icon with a personality as bold as her signature blond coif and rhinestone-encrusted outfits, has died. She was 80 years old.
Parton's influence extended beyond her celebrity, though. A noted philanthropist, she donated millions of dollars for college scholarships through her Dollywood Foundation, provided $1 million for the research that helped to create the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 during the 2020 global pandemic, and established the Imagination Library, a gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school.
Her generosity has left a lasting impact on children across Ohio. Here's how.
How many library books have Ohio, Columbus received? Dolly Parton's Imagination Library leaves lasting impact
Parton's death comes just weeks after the state's honorary Dolly Parton Day, which
is celebrated on Aug. 9. In 2022, Gov. Mike DeWine declared the day for Dolly as an ode to her Imagination Library.
As of March 12, 2025, the Imagination Library of Ohio has mailed over 20 million books to children in the state since the program's establishment in August 2019. Kids up to age 5 in all of Ohio's 88 counties can be registered to receive an age-appropriate book.
Since 2025, Franklin County alone has received over 1.9 million library books from Parton's program. Here's a breakdown of how many books each county within the Columbus region has received, as of March 12, 2025.
- Delaware County: 368,509 Imagination Library books mailed
- Fairfield County: 266,546 Imagination Library books mailed
- Fayette County: 54,026 Imagination Library books mailed
- Franklin County: 1,952,289 Imagination Library books mailed
- Licking County: 347,176 Imagination Library books mailed
- Madison County: 77,407 Imagination Library books mailed
- Pickaway County: 114,619 Imagination Library books mailed
- Union County: 132,537 Imagination Library books mailed
How to sign up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
To sign up for Parton's Imagination Library, visit imaginationlibrary.com and input the required information to check availability.
Once all the information has been completed, a child's first book will arrive 8-10 weeks after signing up. Then, a monthly book will be delivered until the child's fifth birthday.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Dolly Parton made a lasting impact on Ohio kids
