Summit County families with young children can now receive free bilingual English and Spanish books in the mail each month, after Dolly Parton's Imagination Library expanded its collection options nationwide on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The change means families already enrolled through the local Early Childhood Alliance program can switch to the bilingual collection, and new families can choose it when they sign up. It's the first time the program has offered bilingual books outside a California pilot that began in June 2023, according to Park City Community Foundation, which administers the program locally through its Early Childhood Alliance initiative.

Early Childhood Alliance has delivered 46,844 free books to Summit County children since launching the program here. The Imagination Library mails one age-appropriate book per month to enrolled children from birth to age five. The books are free.

International study measures impact

The expansion comes as a major international study underscores the program's effect on early readers. Led by Dr. Claire Galea, head of research at United Way Australia, the study tracked more than 86,000 caregivers across five countries over 12 months. Children who received just 10 books were at least four times more likely to demonstrate stronger early literacy skills than children not enrolled.

In the U.S. specifically, enrolled children were 11 times more likely to show interest in books and 15 times more likely to participate during shared reading, according to a summary of the research findings.

Globally, the Imagination Library now ships more than 3.4 million books per month and has gifted more than 314 million total as of March 2026, according to the program's website.

Statewide push underway

Funding for the program in Utah relies on a patchwork of local and private support. There is no statewide public funding. Operation Literacy has launched a petition urging state legislators to change that by funding the Imagination Library for every registered Utah child from birth to age five, regardless of zip code or family income.

The statewide program currently caps registrations at 700 spots, Operation Literacy said in a late July Facebook post, with more to open as funding increases.

"My dream has always been to help children love books and love learning, no matter where they live," Parton said in March 2026, when the international research results were released. "It warms my heart to know this research shows the difference a book can make."

How to sign up or switch

New Summit County families can choose between the English or bilingual English/Spanish collection at imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability. Families already enrolled can switch to the bilingual option through their parent login at imaginationlibrary.com/parents.

Residents who want to support statewide expansion can sign Operation Literacy's petition at operationliteracy.org/raisingreaders.