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ABOUT US
Governor Phil Bredesen established the non-partisan, not-for-profit Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation® (GBBF) in 2004 to serve as a resource to Tennesseans establishing and sustaining county Imagination Libraries. Initially charged with conducting the Imagination Library statewide rollout, raising funds, and training volunteers, Foundation staff now serve Imagination Library organizers by providing fundraising, public relations, and other support.
Since the Foundation’s launch, Tennessee’s Imagination Library has grown by leaps and bounds:
- Tennessee’s statewide Imagination Library provides a new, age-appropriate, hardcover book every month to registered children from birth to age five - at no cost to the family, regardless of income. More than 4.9 million Imagination Library books have been delivered to Tennessee children since October 2004.
- In April 2008, nearly 192,000 Tennessee children throughout all 95 counties will receive a free book in the mail.
- All of Tennessee’s 375,000 children under age five now have access to the Imagination Library.
- More than 77,032 Tennessee five-year-olds have already "graduated" from the Imagination Library, which means that our statewide program has actually served nearly 268,740 children since the creation of the GBBF in 2004.
About the Imagination Library
 Dolly Parton created the Imagination Library in 1996 for the children in her home town of Sevierville, Tenn. The program provides a new, age-appropriate, hardcover book every month to children from birth to age five at no cost to the family, regardless of income.
- The cost of providing the program to Tennessee's children is $28 per child, per year. This cost is split evenly between a non-profit sponsoring organization in each county, and the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation.
- A blue ribbon committee of childhood education experts selects the books for the Imagination Library, which include such beloved classics as The Little Engine That Could®, Spot Goes to the Farm, The Snowy Day, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten.
- Up to ten bilingual Imagination Library books, included throughout the birth-to-age-five enrollment period, feature Spanish and English text on the same page.
- In many communities, hospital nurses register children for the program the very day they are born. Also, local pediatricians and family physicians offer parents of their preschool patients a “prescription to read.”
About the Resources
Fundraising
To support Tennessee’s Imagination Library, Governor Bredesen each year asks the General Assembly’s approval of a State budgetary allocation to cover half of each county’s cost of providing books every month, based on projected increases in children registered. As half of the cost of each county's monthly book order is covered by the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation, Tennessee counties' Imagination Library sponsoring organizations need only raise $14 per child, per year.
The Foundation raises funds from various corporations, foundations and individuals throughout the state. These funds provide full-coverage distressed county grants and are used for special projects such as purchasing full sets of Imagination Library books for each of the State’s Voluntary Pre-K for All classrooms and local Head Start Centers.
Public Relations
Press releases, event planning and fundraising promotion training are provided to boost enrollment, momentum, and exposure for countywide Imagination Libraries. The Foundation also maintains a user-friendly Web site, distributes a quarterly newsletter (PDF), and hosts the GBBF Fall Workshop each October.
Program Partnerships
To maintain momentum for this statewide children's literacy program, the GBBF proudly utilizes the passion and resources of a number of Tennessee non-profits, businesses, local and statewide library and education-related' organizations, civic groups, state and local governments, etc.
Currently 212 teenagers representing 36 counties have also become active GBBF partners with the 2005 launch of the Governor’s League of Extraordinary Teens, which engages teens age 13 – 19 years in the logistical and financial support of their county Imagination Libraries.
For more information, please call us toll-free at 1-877-99-BOOKS!
Page last updated: March 19, 2008
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