Salem, Oregon – A monthly book in the mailbox will no longer depend on where an Oregon child lives.
Governor Tina Kotek has signed House Bill 4022, making the Oregon Imagination Library Program an official state program and guaranteeing continued support for free book deliveries to children from birth through age five. The ceremonial signing took place at Multnomah County’s new East County Library in Gresham, where Kotek was joined by First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson, lawmakers and community partners.
The program connects Oregon families with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which sends children a free book every month at no cost to parents. The effort is supported through shared funding from the Dollywood Foundation, local partners and the State of Oregon. Across five countries, the program now mails more than 3 million books each month to young children.
“Starting a love of reading as early as possible is a key part of improving our state’s educational outcomes,” Governor Kotek said.
“The fact that almost every legislator supported this bill shows that we can put aside our differences and work together. Thank you to Dolly Parton, the legislators that made this possible, and our program partners: you are changing the lives of our youngest Oregonians.”
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The new law builds on earlier state support. In 2023, lawmakers approved $1.7 million for the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care to help administer and expand the program. Continuing that funding was also included in the Governor’s Recommended Budget.
First Lady Kotek Wilson, who has taken part in read-aloud events around Oregon to encourage enrollment, spoke at the signing and read from Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors. She described the program as more than a literacy tool.
“Reading aloud together creates moments of connection that may be a child’s first memory of safe space,” she said. “It’s in those moments children learn they are loved – that they are secure, and that the world is full of wonder waiting to be discovered.”
The program already reaches more than 75,000 Oregon children, or about 36 percent of the state’s children under age five, with deliveries available in every zip code.
Majority Leader Ben Bowman, who backed the initial funding and HB 4022, said families may forget the bill number but children will remember the joy of receiving books at home. Representative Jules Walters said the law means books can now find young children “no matter where in Oregon you live.”
Families interested in participating can sign up through the Oregon Imagination Library program.
