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ABOUT SHELBY COUNTY BOOKS FROM BIRTH
Shelby County Books From Birth (SCBFB) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that brings Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to residents of Shelby County, Tennessee. SCBFB provides a free, age-appropriate hardcover book every month to children in Shelby County, ages 0-5 who register in the program. Planting the seeds of literacy early in life helps prepare children for success in kindergarten and elementary school.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, created in 1996, encourages positive parent-child interactions, improves kindergarten readiness, and sets the foundation for school success. Research proves that children who aren’t reading at grade level by third grade are far more likely to remain behind in school, require remedial education, engage in anti-social behavior, or drop out of school entirely.
The number of books in a child’s home has a direct correlation to the child’s pre-reading skills and school readiness. Exposure to books through libraries and child care programs is important, but having books in the home appears to be directly related to how well children perform in school.
Books in the program are selected by a panel of early education experts and are purchased through a volume arrangement with Penguin Publishers. Local communities that provide this program must cover the costs for the children that participate in their local program, currently $28 per year per child for all 12 books, postage and handling.
Although there are a number of book distribution programs, there is not another book program available in Shelby County that can provide books — of any caliber or quantity — as cost-effectively as the Imagination Library/Books from Birth program. At less than $2.40 per hardcover book, it is the most economical book distribution program of its kind available in the U.S.
In June of 2005, Shelby County — home to 18% of all children under 5 in Tennessee — launched an Imagination Library program in partnership with the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation which matches 1:1 all local dollars that go toward book costs. With that match, the local cost is only $14.00 per child per year — less than $1.25 per book. Since its inception, more than 37,000 (30,000 currently and 7,000 graduated) Shelby County children have enrolled in the local program, and more than 1000 new registrations are added each month, fueled by grassroots outreach in neighborhoods, child care centers and literacy groups.
Imagination Library/Books from Birth isn’t a panacea, but it is a proven, cost-effective tool that can be leveraged to improve education outcomes and economic health.
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