Families with children ages five and under are invited to sign up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to receive free books by mail. Famed country music star, Dolly Parton, started the program in 1995 from her home county in Tennessee. Since then, it has become an international program reaching five countries with over three million children registered and over 300 million books gifted!
Do I Qualify?
Families with children ages five and under, regardless of income, are eligible to sign up.
How Do I Sign Up?
Palo Alto residents are eligible to sign up through the Santa Clara County Library District. Caregivers can sign up their children using their name and date of birth. If you live outside of Santa Clara County, visit this page to check availability to find out where you can register. After registering, participants should receive their first book in the mail within 8-12 weeks, and then once per month until your child ages out of the program.
What Will My Child Receive?
Registered families will receive one age-appropriate book per month for each child signed up between the ages of 0-5 years old. Books are available in English or English/Spanish. The books are selected annually by the Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee to ensure age-appropriateness. All books are published by Penguin Random House.
To see the complete 2026 lists of book titles, visit this link or see our Palo Alto Library holdings, broken down by age group.
Who is Dolly Parton?
Dolly Parton is an American country singer, songwriter, businesswoman, actress, author, and philanthropist. She was born in 1946 in a one-bedroom cabin on the banks of Little Pigeon River in East Tennessee. She is the fourth of twelve children. Dolly wrote her first song at age six, and performed as a child, appearing on television and radio as early as age 10.
During the span of her over 60-year career, she has received eleven Grammy awards, three Emmy awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony award.
In 1995, Dolly founded the Imagination Library in honor of her father, Robert Parton, who could not read or write. She has shared that his inability to read likely limited his opportunities—and she created this program to help children build a love of reading and ensure families can access books, regardless of income. Today, 1 in 6 American children receive books from Dolly's Imagination Library!
To read books about and by Dolly, try this booklist.
Need More Help?
If you need further assistance, please contact Santa Clara County DPIL:
Phone: 408-293-2326
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