More than 4,000 Kenton County children have enrolled in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, each one receiving a free book in the mail every month from birth through age 5. The Kenton County Public Library wants families to know those books will keep coming.
KCPL published a tribute to Parton on Aug. 25 hours after news broke that the country music icon had died at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer. Parton died peacefully at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, surrounded by family, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The library's tribute highlighted a milestone that connects Kenton County directly to Parton's philanthropy: when KCPL joined the Imagination Library, Kenton County became the final piece completing statewide Kentucky coverage of the program. Every child in every Kentucky community can now receive one free, age-appropriate book per month from birth through age 5.
That statewide expansion was celebrated in August 2024, when Parton herself visited Kentucky for the occasion. As of March 2026, more than 138,000 Kentucky children were receiving books through the program after state lawmakers restored matching funding earlier this year.
Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, inspired by her father's inability to read or write. On her official website, she once recalled what the program meant to him: "My daddy just loved it when all the little kids would call me 'The Book Lady.' That meant more to him than the fact that I had become a star and worked my butt off."
The program has since gifted more than 318 million books worldwide, with over 3.1 million children currently registered.
In its tribute, KCPL said Parton believed deeply in the power of books to change a child's life and assured families that enrolled children will continue receiving their monthly deliveries. The books keep arriving. Parents keep reading them at bedtime.
Her seven-decade career included induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 and songs known across the country, including "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors" and "9 to 5." Her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, died in 2025.
Kenton County parents can enroll children from birth through age 5 in the Imagination Library at kentonlibrary.org/imaginationlibrary.
Upcoming in the community:
- Fort Wright Fire/EMS hosts a blood drive Friday, Sept. 4, as regional supplies run low.
