Gov. Greg Gianforte and First Lady Susan Gianforte on Friday celebrated the second anniversary of the statewide expansion of the Imagination Library of Montana, a program that delivers free, high-quality books each month to children under five in every corner of the state.
Partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the program aims to boost early childhood literacy by ensuring children develop a love of reading before they enter school. Since its statewide launch in 2023, more than 27,000 Montana children have enrolled, and over 590,000 books have been mailed to families across all 56 counties.
“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library inspires a love of reading in Montana by providing free, high-quality, and age-appropriate books each month to children up to age five,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Today, we mark two years since this impactful program became available to Montana children in every zip code.”
The First Lady’s Treasure State Foundation hosted the anniversary event in Bozeman, which featured a fireside chat with Susan Gianforte, student performances by Jivrolo and the Middle Creek Singers of Headwaters Academy and Middle Creek Montessori, and a set by Stephanie Quayle, a Montana native and Nashville recording artist.
“This year, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is celebrating 30 years of inspiring a love of reading and honoring all the incredible communities that have made that possible,” First Lady Gianforte said. “In Montana, we’re celebrating two years since the statewide expansion of the Imagination Library with over 27,000 Montana children now receiving monthly books through the program.”
Montana became the 16th state to achieve full statewide coverage when Dolly Parton joined the First Lady in announcing the expansion in June 2023. Before then, the program only operated in select counties with about 8,500 children enrolled. Today, the network has grown to 63 local program partners serving nearly 27,500 of the state’s eligible children.
Dolly Parton, marking her program’s global 30th anniversary this year, praised Montana’s progress.
“All of these wonderful achievements have very little to do with me and everything to do with you,” Parton said. “You’ve brought so much joy to so many families and children. And I just simply want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me inspire children to love reading.”
Founded in 1995, the Imagination Library has become one of the world’s leading early literacy programs, gifting nearly 300 million books across five countries. Each month, more than 3 million books are mailed to children worldwide, including one in seven children under five in the United States.
Promoting literacy and expanding access to STEM education for rural and underserved communities remain the First Lady’s signature initiatives.