Imagination Library of Grant County, Inc.

Program Overview

WHAT WE DO: We deliver free, age-appropriate, high quality books to the homes of Grant County's preschool children, from birth until their fifth birthday. We encourage parents to read, sing, talk and play with their children, thus giving children the tools to enter Kindergarten ready to learn and increasing the likelihood they will experience success in school and beyond while strengthening family bonds. Currently we serve 1,300 (77%) of eligible children and strive to increase that number. Further, 1400 children have reached their fifth birthday and graduated, and over 400 have moved from the area and taken their libraries with them.

WHY WE DO IT:

New Mexico ranks 49th out of the 50 states overall in child well-being according to the recent Annie E. Casey Foundation Kid's Count Report. Many of the state's determining factors are mirrored in Grant County, and the needs are great. We are experiencing a lack of preschool programs,plummeting reading proficiency scores and a low income level. Many
studies (Evans and Kelly) support the idea that the more books there are in the home, the longer a child will stay in school. Further studies (Hart and Risley) indicate that children from a literacy-rich environment will enter Kindergarten
with a vocabulary ten times greater than those with few books in their homes. Many of our parents are in their
teens and need help to learn how to raise healthy, happy children.

HOW WE DO IT: The Imagination Library is one of approximately 1,700 affiliates of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. We established our local affiliate in December of 2010. In only 6 years, we have facilitated the mailing of over 63,000 books to Grant County preschool children. We provide a proactive, educationally sound way to engage young children and their parents in the roots of literacy. The only requirements are that the child is under the age of 5, resides in Grant County and has a parent or guardian who promises to read to him/her.

This proactive approach can do much to eliminate the need to retain third grade students because of poor reading proficiency scores, a significant problem for Grant County. Further, we are the only organization in Grant County that addresses the issue of preschool literacy for all preschoolers. In addition to registering children to receive books, we provide a tote bag with parenting education, child development information and a CD with traditional children's songs for all parents or guardians who register their child in person. Our annual parent surveys and local Kindergarten teachers confirm we are making a difference.