The Bracken Imagination Library Wants You

AUGUSTA — Going into the second year of the program, the Augusta Rotary Club is encouraging more families to enroll their children in the county’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

According to past Augusta Rotary Club President Tom Burke, the rotary club officially started the Imagination Library in January of 2022. He noted there were several months of preparation prior to the opening date.

Burke said he first had the idea to bring the library to Bracken County when he was watching a documentary about Parton. He explained he did not know the imagination library existed before this point.

As he discovered the program, Burke and other Rotarians learned more about why Parton started the program initially. According to Burke’s wife, Dinah Burke, Parton started the foundation due to personal circumstances.

She explained that Parton’s father was not able to read as a child due to a lack of opportunity and exposure. Dinah said the Dolly Parton Imagination Library was founded as an effort to give preschool age children the opportunity to learn key skills such as reading.

Tom Burke added that Parton opened the program about 25 years ago. He went on to explain the program further.

According to Burke, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library is open-enrollment for any preschool age child under the age of five. He said you do not have to be a resident of Bracken County to enroll your child in the program.

Once a student is enrolled, they will receive free books each month until their fifth birthday, according to Burke. He said there have been 114 children who have “graduated” from the program.

To start, the library is open to a zip-code area first. Later in the process, it is open to an entire county. Burke noted Bracken County was the first county in the Buffalo Trace Area to introduce the Imagination Library to the community.

Since opening in 2022, the Imagination Library has brought in roughly half of the eligible preschool aged children in the county. Currently, 353 out of 630 preschoolers in Bracken County are enrolled, according to Burke.

Dinah Burke added that her husband is always going up to families with children who appear to be the proper age to ask if they have been exposed to the Imagination Library yet. There are often parents who were never exposed to the information or had not had a good opportunity to enroll their children, she noted.

Tom Burke added that he has been able to enroll several children by going up to their parents to promote the program. He explained the logistics behind the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

According to Burke, the Augusta Rotary Club was able to sponsor the program through an annual grant the club receives each year from Rotary Club International. He said the club had to match the grant amount at $1,500 and pays the fee for the books each month.

In total, the books are $2.20 each. Burke said the club only pays half of that cost because the state created an initiative to cover the remaining total. Books are no cost to children enrolled in the program, he noted.

“Kentucky ranks like 37th of all the states in child literacy, so we’ve got some room for improvement,” Burke remarked. He noted the opportunities that become available to children when they are enrolled in the program.

Burke continued to encourage families to enroll their preschool aged children in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. He said there is a goal for 70 percent of eligible kids in the county to be enrolled but noted that 100 percent is ideal.