The Dolly Parton Imagination Library got a boost this week from American Electric Power.
The utility company gave $5,000 for the Imagination Library to the Allen County Public Library Foundation to help sustain the literacy program which provides free age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five.
The books are mailed directly to their homes each month.
Allen County’s version of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library launched in 2024. It has served more than 8,000 children, providing more than 60,000 books, according to a release.
Foundations and donors have increased their gifts to the Imagination Library in recent months after the Indiana Legislature removed state-funding for the program from the budget.
Indiana provided about 50-percent of the costs of providing the books. In Allen County, it costs approximately $31 per child per year to provide the books.
