Calhoun County Imagination Library Ranks 5th in State

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library puts books into the hands and hearts of children across the world, partnering with local communities to provide a hand-selected, age-appropriate, highquality book each month to registered children from birth to age five. Recent data shows that our county affiliate of the Arkansas Imagination Library has enrolled 74% of the eligible children in our county, putting us in fifth place statewide! In a recent study published through the University of Central Arkansas, researchers found that Arkansas students enrolled in the program are 24% less likely to repeat kindergarten and 28% less likely to repeat third grade (2021). Calhoun County Imagination Library mails free books to children until they turn five, no matter their family’s income. Having more books at home has a direct, proven positive impact on learning, and this program is available for free to all children in Calhoun County! There are just over 50 eligible children who aren’t registered for the program - if you know one of them, encourage them to sign up for this great program! If you’re interested in helping to sponsor the program, it costs $26 to sponsor one child for one year, or $130 to sponsor a child for all 5 years of eligibility (that’s 60 books!). For more information about how to sign up a child or become a sponsor, visit www.calcolibrary.com/aril/ or contact the library at (870)798-4492.