Remembering Dolly Parton 1946-2026

The world lost a beloved singer, songwriter, and cultural icon with the passing of Dolly Parton. While there may be many ways to describe her singular personality and style, one persona she certainly cherished was “book lady.” Libraries everywhere have benefited from her dedication to reading and literacy.

Dolly Parton was born into poverty in the Smoky Mountains of Eastern Tennessee in 1946. Her father was a sharecropper who did not know how to read or write. This inspired her to launch Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995. The Imagination Library sends free high-quality books to children from birth to age five, regardless of their family’s income. They are sent by mail with the child’s name on them, intended to give them a sense of excitement and ownership. It began in her childhood home of Sevier County, Tennessee, and quickly spread across the United States. Now the organization is international, with branches in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland.

The Imagination Library has won countless awards, and in 2018, Dolly Parton visited the Library of Congress to donate the 100 millionth book to their collection. She appeared in person to celebrate the milestone and read to a group of children. Today, the program is 31 years old, serves over 3 million children, and has gifted 332.4 million books.

Her father lived to see this achievement and took great pride in it. Before his death, he told Dolly that the Imagination Library was the most important thing she had ever done. Through this organization, Dolly Parton’s legacy will live on, continuing to inspire children to read, dream, and learn. We can’t think of a more powerful and important gift to leave behind. Here is a list of books by and about the incomparable Dolly Parton.

Additional photos of Dolly Parton in Tessa

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