Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has put 46,844 free books into the hands of Summit County children since the Park City Community Foundation's Early Childhood Alliance began running the program locally. Now, eleven days after a Utah nonprofit announced plans to take the effort statewide, Parton died Tuesday at 80.

Parton died Tuesday, Aug. 25, at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, after what her family called a "brief battle with cancer." Her nephew Bryan Seaver announced the death in a video posted to social media, and the family asked that donations be made to the Imagination Library in lieu of flowers, People magazine reported.

The program she founded in 1995 mails a free book each month to any registered child under 5, regardless of family income. In Summit County, the Early Childhood Alliance covers the roughly $2.60-per-book cost through local fundraising shared with the Imagination Library. Families can choose an English or bilingual English-Spanish collection, an option that became available nationwide Aug. 4.

Nationally, the program now distributes more than 3 million books each month.

Statewide push already in motion

On Aug. 14, KSL reported that Operation Literacy, a Utah-based nonprofit, had reached a formal agreement with the Imagination Library to become its official state partner. The deal is pending approval and funding from state lawmakers.

Operation Literacy has launched a pilot in selected Utah ZIP codes under the name Raising Utah Readers. Aaron Hall, the organization's public relations manager, told KSL: "It's an honor to be involved with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Dolly and her team have made colossal efforts to build a bright future through reading, and we couldn't be more thrilled to work with them in Utah going forward."

The Park City Community Foundation has pushed for statewide coverage since at least 2021. In an Aug. 5 update, the foundation said a statewide investment would guarantee every registered Utah child from birth to age 5 a free book each month, regardless of ZIP code or household income.

The need is stark. A January 2026 Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute report found that nearly half of Utah students in kindergarten through third grade are not reading at grade level. The gap is sharpest in rural districts: fewer than 30% of third graders in Piute School District read at grade level, compared with more than 70% in the Park City School District, according to Deseret News reporting on the study.

What comes next

Operation Literacy has not disclosed how much state funding it will request, which lawmaker might sponsor a bill, or when the issue could reach the Utah Legislature. The next regular session typically begins in January.

The Utah STEM Action Center already supports the Imagination Library in six counties: Garfield, Iron, Piute, Sevier, Washington and Wayne.

Dollywood Foundation President Jeff Conyers signaled the program will continue under foundation leadership, telling Knox News that the Imagination Library "… is deeply personal to Dolly, and by extension, to all of us who have the privilege of stewarding her vision."

Summit County families can register eligible children at parkcitycf.org. The first book arrives six to eight weeks after enrollment. The Utah Legislature's next regular session, where the Raising Utah Readers proposal could surface, is expected in January 2027.