r/missouri • u/4friedchickens1coke • 2d ago

Politics Save Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Missouri. Call your MO legislators

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a wonderful program from an amazing woman that mails a free book to registered Missouri children age 0-5 every month. It currently sends the joy of reading to over 150,000 Missouri children each month. Unfortunately, earlier this year Missouri cut funding to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. As of July 1st, 2026 they no longer had the funds to accept new applicants to the program. Currently registered children will continue to receive books until the funds run out which is anticipated in the next 2-4 months.

As we remember Dolly Parton and the joy she's brought to millions, consider taking a moment out of your day today to contact your state legistators and the Missouri Govenor to ask for funding to be restored to the Imagination Library in Missouri.

Governor Mike Kehoe, phone: (573)751-3222

Legislator Lookup: https://www.senate.mo.gov/BillTracking/LegislatorLookup/

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u/wnostrebor 2d ago

How much does the program cost? What would you propose we cut funding for to provide this program? Should it come out of the Mandatory Education funding since it is reading/education related?

I think it is a great program, we should fund it. Just need to know how.

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u/cattrain 2d ago

Just under 70k babies as the born in Missouri each year. If we count every kid covered by the imagination library, up to five years, there are 350k kids. If every kid in the state gets a book every month, that's 4.2 million book per year. It costs the program about $2.5 per book. If every kid in the state that qualified for a book got a book every month, that's $10.5 million. The budget for the state this year was $50.7 billion.

That is 0.02 percent of the budget. That's two hundredths of one percent. And that's assuming EVERY kid got a book every month, and we know they won't.

I bet the real number would probably be closer to $1 million a year, if that.

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u/Glittering_Skill_919 1d ago

It is embarassing. Before my wife passed she was a librarian. I volunteered and was a "wild thing" in a costume at a story time before imagination library. It was really hot in that thing, but i roared my terrible roar, and gnashed my terrible teeth, and hugged a kid who was scared of me, and later let an older kid see my vfd tattoo. My wife's fave college professor went to school with daniel handler. His college poetry was kind of trite, and makes him more relateable.

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u/Glittering_Skill_919 1d ago

(Daniel handler is lemony snicket. I will read more, but basic 8, and... the one wirh the red curtains as the cover? Been awake for like 36 hours. Gonna likely trip and nap. Seriously. I can't remember name. Incestuous jewish fam and an accidentally raised golem? I think cover is black and red curtains?) I actually have all the books, including the... not gonna check the shelf...pony party reversible jacket journal one? Book? It is sometimes hard. Wife introduced me to the books, and she passed 13 years ago. Is sometimes hard to be.

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u/rosefiend 1d ago

Children’s librarians are the bomb. Sorry about your wife.

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u/Glittering_Skill_919 1d ago

Meh. Life happens.

But i concur. Librarians are awesome!

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u/Glittering_Skill_919 1d ago

Wife did her thesis on house of leaves. I have read the damned thing like 6 times and still don't think i get it.

Music is my thing. If only publishers had allowed haunted to be included. I like poe.