DEMING – Families in Deming and across Luna County can sign up children from birth to age 5 for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a free program that mails one high-quality, age-appropriate book each month, with children able to receive up to 60 books before kindergarten. New Mexico’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department sponsors the statewide effort so families in all 33 counties can participate at no cost. (governor.state.nm.us)
In a message promoting the program, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham highlighted the impact early reading can have, saying, “Research shows that kids read to regularly enter kindergarten with vocabularies 10x larger than peers with fewer books at home.” (Facebook)
The Imagination Library began in 1995, inspired by Dolly Parton’s desire to build a love of reading for young children in her home community, and it has since grown into a major early-literacy program. Official program materials note it is active in all 50 U.S. states and operates in five countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. (imaginationlibrary.com)
Here in New Mexico, the Governor’s Office says nearly 2 million books have already been mailed to families statewide, and the state’s FY26 expansion funding was intended to reach tens of thousands more children in every ZIP code. (governor.state.nm.us)
On the funding question, the program is widely described as a shared model: Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Foundation runs the program, while community and state partners typically help cover the “at-cost” book and mailing expenses in their areas. Because of that structure, there is not one single public number that cleanly represents “how much Dolly personally donates,” but the Foundation’s public nonprofit filings show annual expenses in the tens of millions of dollars. (imaginationlibrary.com)
For Deming and Luna County families, enrollment is straightforward: use the program’s “Check Availability” page to register by address/ZIP code, or contact the New Mexico program line for help at 575.519.4464. (imaginationlibrary.com)