
Instilling a love for literacy
Dolly Parton created Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) in 1995 as a tribute to her father, as he never learned to read. Since its launch, DPIL has become an international foundation, sending over 2 million books to children across the globe every month.
The program’s launch across Cambria County motivated Assistant Superintendent Haley Fleegle to bring the program to Altoona. Since its launch in the Altoona area on Oct. 10, 2024, over 780 of those 2 million monthly books have gone to children within the community.
Their loves for literacy inspired both Fleegle and Parton, who both desire to share this love with future generations.
For Parton, she saw how not knowing how to read kept her father from opportunities, and she wanted to inspire children to want to learn, thus preventing them from facing the same struggles her father did.
“Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission,” Parton said in her “Letter from Dolly” on the Imagination Library website. “In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county, but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over 1 million children.”
Fleegle was additionally inspired to bring the program to the Altoona area from her own childhood.
“I have a love for literacy,” Fleegle said. “Cambria County started the program, so that was how I learned about it. They offer it to all children within their county lines. That wasn’t realistic for us, so being able to bring it to a small part of what we service here in Altoona is what we did.”
In her childhood, Fleegle received reading materials through magazine subscriptions. Similarly to the Imagination Library, they were delivered and addressed to her; however, unlike the Imagination Library, they were not free.
“I remember getting my ‘Highlights’ Magazine in the mail. I remember getting my Sweet Pickles kit to be able to read,” Fleegle said. “I remember all those things, but they were at a cost to families…. It was a special, special day when those items would arrive… seeing your name and having them addressed to you, and it was yours…. It gave you an opportunity to have something that was just yours, and it was very special.”
The program, founded in 1995 as a part of the Dollywood foundation, sends enrolled children a book every month free of charge. All children 5-years-old or younger who either live in zip codes 16601, 16602 or 16603 and/or who are a part of the Altoona Area School District are eligible to be enrolled in the program. The requirements were set to ensure children attending the Learning Express Preschool were all able to be enrolled in the program, as some students live just outside of the zip code requirements.
“Normally it’s a parent, but if there’s a grandparent or someone that knows someone within the zip code area, they can do it as well,” Community Relations Director Paula Foreman said. “Registrations are online, and the registrations go directly through the [Dollywood] Foundation…. They can [enroll] by going to the school district foundation website, which is aasdfoundation.org, They could also, if you went to the [Dollywood] Foundation [website], under Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, you can search by zip code to see if there’s an affiliate in your area, and they can register there.”
While registration for the program is an easy, straightforward process, bringing the program to Altoona wasn’t so simple. Some unexpected challenges were posed, but the payoff was worth it in the end.
“We started the process two years ago with having discussions,” Fleegle said. “It took us a little bit longer than we had anticipated. Some of that was communication to secure funding, there were different groups that were possibly looking at taking over the whole Blair County area. There were little dips in the road, but we’re grateful that we were able to get it started here.”
Aside from the time it took to get the needed resources, there were additional requirements that had to be met when applying to be a part of the program.
“When you become an affiliate, you have to provide them documentation that you’re a 501(c)(3), which is basically a nonprofit organization,” Foreman said. “You have to apply for bulk mailing… through USPS. Other than that, you did the normal application process that they have, and then the foundation had to sign off and agree to their terms and conditions. The process of applying isn’t the hardest thing; the hardest thing to sustain the program is funding. Although it’s absolutely free to the end user, cost still exists. Although it’s minimal right now, it’s $2.60 per child for a year for 12 books. We have well over 780 kids enrolled right now, so we’re working upwards of $2000 a month just to sustain the program. That’s probably the largest hurdle–the funding.”
The program is primarily funded through donation. According to Foreman, a donation of $31.20 will provide a child with books every month for one year, and a donation of $156 will provide a child with books every month from birth to age five.
“One of the things that we’ve always said is there is no gift that’s too small,” Foreman said. “Anyone that would like to contribute can do so through the [AASD or Dollywood] foundations, through the [AASD Foundation or DPIL] websites, they can mail in a check as well or stop by and drop off cash, if that’s how they operate. There are some groups that we’re talking with now to hopefully get some gifts that will help sustain it in a more long term capacity.”
The program also received funding from the Altoona public library.
“The library has committed to financially support the Imagination Library for at least the next 10 years,” the library’s executive director, Jennifer Knisely, said.
For those parents who are on the fence about enrolling their children in the program, Fleegle is left with one question:
“Why not? It’s a free book at no cost. It’s something that , even if they only look at it once, that’s more than they would have, so I would certainly take advantage of this benefit as a parent.”
As students begin to outgrow the DPIL program, they begin to transition into elementary school. While they are no longer receiving books monthly, students will have the schools’ libraries, which have the same or similar goals as DPIL, available to them.
“The goals of the Imagination Library and my libraries are the same because our goal is to get books into the kids’ hands as much as we can, and to foster and encourage the love of reading,” elementary librarian Kristin Wineland said.
Wineland feels that the Imagination Library’s goal to make books more accessible will greatly advantage elementary students, as the love for reading that the program instills at a young age encourages students’ to love reading through elementary school.
“In the elementary libraries, I have noticed that if students have a love for reading then they will be the ones reading through series of books,” Wineland said. “Students who don’t necessarily love to read but will read only pick up a book here or there, so I hope that these students develop a love for reading at a young age, and then we here in the elementary schools can build upon that. I think it also gives young children who otherwise would not get the opportunity to read these books a chance to read them.”
In order to engage students, Wineland makes sure to have a variety of books available, and she makes her libraries a place that students can enjoy being in.
“I encourage the students to love reading by showing them a variety of different styles of books, making choosing books off the shelves magical, decorating my libraries in a magical way and just all around creating an inviting space,” Wineland said. “I work at four of the elementary schools, which are McAuliffe Heights, Juniata, Juniata Gap and Logan…. Every year, I decide on a theme. I alter the characters so that the teachers’ faces are on them, and then I print them out, cut them and put them on the wall. Right now my Library is decorated as ‘Toy Story.’ I tried to make it feel as though the students walking in are the toys, and that they are in the movie. The students love trying to find their teachers, and past teachers on the wall as well; it’s a little game we have. Currently my library at Juniata is an Enchanted Forest. We have a book fairy door as well.”
Elementary students check out books every two weeks, choosing from the wide selection of books that have been curated in the library. Like the DPIL, students frequently receive new reading materials; however, unlike DPIL, the books have to be returned.
“I see my students every two weeks, and students can check out a book,” Wineland said. “My students have to return them and get a new one. We continue this process all year long. My kindergarten to second grade students are learning how to utilize a library, and how to take books off the shelves. I feel that they are also experimenting with what their reading style is. They have the opportunity to check out various different types of library books: Nonfiction, fiction and easy readers. I have just recently taught my students in grades three-five how to access our library online. This has made a huge difference to the books that they check out. Before, they would only grab what they could see right away, and now they search the library for the books that they really want to read. I think this is instilling the love of reading back into these students.”
Wineland believes allowing students to choose books from a variety of genres gives them a better chance at finding something they are genuinely interested in reading.
“Having a wide variety of books helps to be able to capture every student’s favorite genre,” Wineland said. “I try to have something for everyone, so by having a huge variety of books the odds are better. I think it also allows students a chance to explore genres and find what they like best.”
Moving into junior high, students are granted similar opportunities, though they are not exactly the same. Often, getting older children to pick up a book is more difficult, especially when they are not required to anymore.
“I always tell kids that we have something for everyone,” junior high librarian Justina McCaulley said. “If they say they don’t like reading, I tell them they just haven’t found what it is they like to read. I steer kids in the direction of whatever movies, TV shows, hobbies, etc. they enjoy after school. That’s usually a good place to start a conversation about what they would enjoy reading. I also strategically place books around the computers that are graphic novels and high interest. Kids may come in to play, but often they leave with one of these books. It’s a tricky way to show kids that reading can be fun and enjoyable.”
McCaulley feels that the program will have great payoff for students, regardless of their background, and she hopes to see the program payoff both in school and through a lifelong love of reading.
“Hopefully, the kids that take advantage of this program will come to kindergarten with increased vocabulary, fluency and comprehension,” McCaulley said. “When kids are exposed to books, they are more likely to be successful in all reading and writing areas in school and life.”
When students move up to high school, the availability of books to them remains similar to the availability of books in junior high and elementary schools. High school librarian Tanya Lucass feels that, like in the elementary and junior high schools, her library’s goals align with the goals of the Imagination Library.
“Our goal is to just get books into the hands of students, books of choice and books to complement curriculum,” Lucas said.
As students move into high school many of them have changed feelings toward reading. For many, this is because their perspective switches from viewing reading as a leisure activity to viewing it as an obligation. For those students who have grown indifferent to reading, or those who say they don’t like reading, Lucas believes that they just haven’t found the right book.
“Just like you have to have the right series on Netflix, we have to get you the right book, and the right book has to be accessible to you,” Lucas said. “You have to be able to read it and understand what you are reading, and sometimes that means a ‘skinny book;’ I call them skinny books. We’ll start with the ‘skinny book,’ and then we’ll scaffold a student up to a higher level of reading, but it has to be something that interests them. They have to want to see themselves in the book. I don’t want to read about a book that doesn’t relate to me.”
Beyond school, students can also visit the public library to check out books.
“The Library strives to foster a life-long love of reading and learning,” Knisely said. “By supporting this initiative, we can promote literacy and learning with our youngest patrons and connect families to other programs the library offers… I hope that the families receiving books will want to come to the library even before their child enters school. There are so many opportunities for them here, not just books to check out–such as story times, developmentally appropriate play areas, connections with other families and special early intervention play groups.”
Overall, the continued encouragement for reading is greatly beneficial to all students and future students.