Dolly Parton Poster

The Little Engine That Could and The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Award-winning singer-songwriter, actress, author and philanthropist Dolly Parton has sold more than 100 million records worldwide but counts her Imagination Library initiative as one of her greatest achievements. Dolly’s Imagination Library mails free, age-appropriate books to children from birth until five—no matter their family’s income. In 2022, one out of ten children under the age of five in the U.S. received a book from Dolly each month, equating to more than two million books being mailed globally per month. 

The American Library Association (ALA) Council has elected Dolly to an honorary membership in the association, the ALA’s highest honor, which it will bestow upon her in June 2023. Honorary memberships are conferred in recognition of outstanding contributions of lasting importance to libraries and librarianship.