INDIANAPOLIS — The 2025-2026 budget defunded the 50% contribution from the state to give children books under Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in the state. After public outcry over the loss of the program, Governor Braun announced that he had asked First Lady Maureen Braun to spearhead an initiative to keep Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Indiana. First Lady Braun will work with philanthropic partners and in consultation with state leadership to identify funding opportunities for the book distribution program.
“I deeply appreciate Governor Braun’s commitment to early childhood literacy and the leadership of First Lady Maureen Braun in championing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The Imagination Library brings the joy of reading to over 125,000 Hoosier children each month in all 92 counties across the state, and we are encouraged by Governor and First Lady Braun’s support to ensure its future in Indiana. We look forward to working with the Governor and First Lady, state leaders, and Local Program Partners to keep books in the hands of Indiana’s youngest learners and strengthen this foundation for a lifetime of success,” stated Jeff Conyers, President of The Dollywood Foundation.
The program provides underserved children ages from birth to age five with a free monthly book. The program launched in 1995 and has been growing ever since, mailing more than one million books in the United States. Dolly Parton was inspired to start the program because her father could not read, so she became a strong advocate for literacy.