Dolly Parton: A lasting legacy of imagination, books and opportunity right here in North Lincolnshire

Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, has paid tribute to Dolly Parton, whose extraordinary global career was matched by a remarkable commitment to giving children the best possible start in life. 

Through the Imagination Library, more than 30,000 children across North Lincolnshire have grown up with books of their own, delivered free to their homes from birth through a programme funded by North Lincolnshire Council. 

Over the past decade, that investment has put more than a million books into the hands of children and families. 

Cllr Waltham said: “Dolly Parton gave generations of people music they will never forget. But for millions of children around the world – and thousands here in North Lincolnshire – her legacy is also sitting on bookshelves in family homes. 

“That is why we have been so proud to invest in the Imagination Library and make it available to local families. 

“I was fortunate enough to meet Dolly several times over the years and what always came across was how deeply she believed in what the Imagination Library could do – she understood the enormous difference something as simple as a book can make in the earliest years of a child’s life. 

“A book opens up imagination. It starts conversations between children and parents. It builds language, confidence and curiosity and, crucially, creates opportunities which can stay with a child for the rest of their life. 

“More than a million books have now been delivered here. More than 30,000 children have grown up with their own little library at home, regardless of their family circumstances. 

“That is an extraordinary legacy. Dolly understood that where a child starts in life should never determine where they can go, and she did something practical, generous and incredibly powerful about it. 

“Her music made her a global icon, but there is a part of her legacy right here in North Lincolnshire – in homes, on bookshelves and in the lives of children who discovered the joy of reading. 

“That will last for generations, and we will always be enormously grateful for it.” 

Dolly Parton died on Tuesday at the age 80.