Photo above: left to right. Dee Pribyl, Susan Gianforte, Emily Wicks
By Dee Pribyl
Dolly Parton's recent passing leaves a profound void in the world, but her love of literacy will shine through her proudest achievement-The Imagination Library. Founded in 1995 as a deeply personal tribute to her father, who never learned to read or write, Dolly transformed her humble beginnings into a global mission. What started as a local initiative in east Tennessee has grown into a breathtaking global phenomenon, gifting more than 300 million free books to children from birth to age five across five countries.
The books offered through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library are carefully chosen, high-quality, age-appropriate titles by a national panel of early childhood literacy experts called the Blue-Ribbon Book Selection Committee.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library officially launched its local chapter in Big Sandy, Montana in 2006, through the dedicated efforts of Carolyn Bitz and Deloris (Dee) Pribyl. Their combined vision ensured that the children of Big Sandy from birth to age 5 could access free, high-quality, age-appropriate books mailed straight to their homes every month. The monthly book rotation updates every year to include contemporary hits and timeless classics, structured across five stages from year 1 to year 5.
The Big Sandy Rotary Club stepped up as a vital partner for this project which was the first and only one in Chouteau County. While Dolly Parton's Imagination Library provides the books at a heavily subsidized cost, local programs must secure a community sponsor to cover the monthly postage and distribution fees to mail each book directly to a child's home. By agreeing to be the official local sponsor in 2006, the Big Sandy Rotary Club ensured that the program could launch and remain completely free of charge for Big Sandy families. For 17 years the Big Sandy Rotary kept the program alive for local children with Dee Pribyl remaining as the Big Sandy Coordinator.
In June of 2023 Montana First Lady Susan Gianforte officially partnered with Dolly Parton's Dollywood Foundation to launch the Imagination Library of Montana as a statewide initiative through her Treasure State Foundation. Books are now available free in every county in Montana and Dee Pribyl became the coordinator for all of Chouteau County. Every child can easily be enrolled at ImaginationLibrary.com. Books will arrive monthly until the child's 5th birthday, starting with the wonderful classic-'The Little Engine That Could'.
