Library hosts Imagination Library Day

Sep. 30—The Daviess County Public Library held its first Imagination Library Day on Thursday.

Imagination Library is an organization founded by Dolly Parton with the goal to strengthen literacy skills and create a love of reading through free books every month. Children from birth to 5 years old are eligible to participate in the program, and the books are age-appropriate for the recipient.

"We have sort of worked with Imagination Library in the past several times, but I entered this role last year and stepped onto their advisory board, so I'm able to maintain a strong partnership with them," said Candice Dent, DCPL outreach coordinator and a volunteer of the advisory board for Imagination Library.

The day began with story times, with librarians reading "Everyone Loves Bacon" by Kelly DiPucchio and Eric Wright, "Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast" by Josh Funk and Brendan Kearney, "Kitten's Autumn" by Eugenie Fernandes and "Mouse's First Fall" by Lauren Thompson and Buket Erdogan.

"The librarians promoted the Imagination Library Day during story time and encouraged families to stop by our desk to sign up," Dent said. "Several parents came by to see our Dolly Parton cutout; some didn't know about it."

Families do not have to register their child in the program every year. Once enrolled, books will be sent until the child turns 5 years old.

"We most likely will make this an annual event," Dent said. "Not only are we able to promote the foundation itself, but we are also promoting our trivia night to try and recruit teams."

Trivia night is a fundraiser to pay for the postage used to send the books to children every month. This year's event will be Oct. 15, and teams can pay to play or become a sponsor without playing.

"The goal is to get books in children's hands," Dent said. "The Daviess County Imagination Library pays for the postage on the books that are sent out."

DCPL is not directly affiliated with Imagination Library, meaning they do not help fund or run the program.