In the days following Dolly Parton’s death, much of the media attention focused on her extraordinary music career. Yet among the tributes was repeated recognition of something else: her commitment to putting books into the hands of children.
Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, millions of free books have been distributed to children around the world. For many commentators, this initiative represented one of her most significant philanthropic achievements. While others celebrated her songs, educators, librarians and literacy advocates celebrated her understanding of a simple truth: access to books matters.
Recent research suggests she was right.
Galea et al. (2026), examining the impact of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library across 86,000 families worldwide, found measurable improvements in children’s emergent literacy skills after receiving books through the program. Remarkably, benefits were evident after children received as few as ten books. The researchers also calculated that in Australia every $100 invested in the program generates approximately $990 in social and economic returns through future earnings and welfare savings.
This is almost a ten-fold benefit … At a time when educators continue to grapple with falling literacy outcomes, these findings feel particularly significant.
Shortly after reading about the impact of the Imagination Library, I found myself reflecting on Helen Adam’s recent article, NAPLAN: We know how to close the reading gap. We must fund it now. Adam argues that while explicit instruction remains essential, it has never been the only solution to literacy challenges. After decades of literacy reforms, interventions and increasingly sophisticated approaches to reading instruction, achievement gaps continue to widen, particularly for disadvantaged students.
Few would argue against the importance of explicit instruction. Children need systematic teaching in phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. The evidence is overwhelming. Learning to read is not something most children simply absorb through exposure alone.
However, the more I reflected on both Adam’s article and the work of the Imagination Library, the more I was reminded that teaching children how to read is only part of the challenge.
The question we often overlook is whether children have enough to read once we have taught them.
Adam identifies two consistently underfunded aspects of children’s literacy environments. The first is genuine opportunity to read. Books in the home. School libraries. Access to diverse collections. Time during the school day to read for pleasure. These factors sit alongside quality instruction, not instead of it.
This is where school libraries become central to any meaningful conversation about whole-school literacy.
Libraries are often viewed as an enhancement to literacy programs rather than essential literacy infrastructure. Yet the evidence increasingly suggests otherwise. If Dolly Parton’s work demonstrates anything, it is that access to books is not a luxury. It is a prerequisite for literacy development.
Reading proficiency grows through reading.
Students who have regular access to books are more likely to practise the skills they have been taught. They encounter new vocabulary. They build background knowledge. They develop fluency. Most importantly, they begin to see reading as something they choose to do rather than something done to them.
The research underpinning reading for pleasure reinforces this point. Cremin and Scholes’ (2024) international review found that children who read for pleasure generally demonstrate stronger outcomes in vocabulary, spelling, reading comprehension and even mathematics, alongside more positive attitudes towards reading. Significantly, time spent reading recreationally is associated with, and predictive of, enriched vocabularies. This matters because vocabulary remains one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension and long-term academic success.
For schools seeking to improve literacy outcomes, the implications are profound. Whole-school literacy cannot be reduced solely to instructional approaches. Instruction teaches students how to read. Libraries create the conditions that allow those skills to grow.
Adam’s second point is equally important. Children need to see themselves reflected in what they read. Reading is not only about decoding words on a page. It is also about identity, belonging and connection. Students engage most deeply when they encounter books that reflect their experiences, interests, cultures and aspirations.
Again, this is where school libraries play a critical role.
Teacher librarians curate collections that serve as both mirrors and windows. We help students find stories that affirm who they are while also introducing them to new perspectives and experiences. Through collection development, reader advisory programs, author visits, book clubs and reading promotions, libraries help students develop not only literacy skills but reader identities.
As a profession, we have long understood something that Dolly Parton seemed to understand instinctively. Access changes outcomes.
A child who has books is more likely to become a reader. A child who becomes a reader is more likely to develop the vocabulary, knowledge and comprehension that underpin academic success. A child who can find themselves in a book is more likely to see reading as meaningful.
This is why conversations about literacy must move beyond instruction alone.
Explicit teaching remains critical. But if we genuinely want to close reading gaps, we must also invest in the wider conditions that support literacy success: well-resourced school libraries, qualified teacher librarians, diverse collections and opportunities for students to read for pleasure every day.
Perhaps Dolly Parton’s greatest educational legacy was not simply giving books away. It was reminding us that sometimes the most powerful literacy intervention is ensuring that a child has a book in their hands.
References
Adam, H. (2026, August 5). NAPLAN: We know how to close the reading gap. We must fund it now. EduResearch Matters. View article [blog.aare.edu.au]
Cremin, T., & Scholes, L. (2024). Reading for pleasure: Scrutinising the evidence base – benefits, tensions and recommendations. Language and Education, 38(4), 353-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2324948
Galea, C., Duursma, E., Petocz, P., McArthur, G., Robidoux, S., Beyersmann, E., & Noble, C. (2026). The impact of shared book reading on children’s emergent literacy skills: A worldwide study of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Early Child Development and Care, 196(7-8), 504-522. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2026.2678212
Learning through the Library 