Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library cannot accept new enrollees in Missouri amid state budget cuts
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library will not be able to accept new applications for enrollees beginning on July 1 because of state budget cuts, according to an email from a Missouri Department of Education and Secondary Education spokesperson.
“Due to the proposed 2027 Fiscal Year state budget reduction, beginning July 1, 2026, Dolly Parton Imagination Library will not have the funds to accept new applications to the program. DESE–OOC will continue providing books to families already enrolled, as funding allows,” the email says.
The program – which was launched in the state in November 2023 — allows parents to register their child to receive a free book every month from birth to 5 years old, previous reporting shows.
The email from DESE says it is “unsure of the future of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Missouri as a state funded program. Partnering with local programs could be a potential in the future with time, funding, and partnerships coordination.
Missouri covers 100% of the funding of the program and was the first to do so, the spokesperson wrote.
There have been 4,361,936 books donated since 2023 and 169,032 children in Missouri were receiving books from the program during the first quarter of 2026.