An initiative that provides new, free books to children in an effort to get them started reading at an early age brought first lady Betsy Dalrymple to southwest North Dakota this week.
By BRYCE MARTIN
Pioneer Editor | [email protected]
An initiative that provides new, free books to children in an effort to get them started reading at an early age brought first lady Betsy Dalrymple to southwest North Dakota this week.
Following a stop in Stark County, Dalrymple, sans her governor husband, spent about an hour Monday at Bowman County Public Library to meet with the library’s administrators and several board members.
Her reason for supporting the program, called Imagination Library, stemmed from her developmental psychology major in college along with a teaching degree. She formerly taught kindergarten through second grade in Fargo.
“It’s been a passion of mine for a while,” Dalrymple said at the start of the meeting.
Veteran country-western musician Dolly Parton founded Imagination Library in 1995 in Tennessee. She began the program when she realized a severe problem with illiteracy in her home county.
Over 40 million books have been given to children across the country and around the globe since her initial launch more than two decades ago. The books go directly to the children at their home each month.
“What better way to get kids to love books,” Dalrymple said. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
Research from control groups in Tennessee, Georgia and Michigan have released findings that children involved with Imagination Library become better readers and more prepared for schooling.
The number of North Dakota libraries involved with the program has climbed to double digits since it reached the state in 2011. More than half of all counties within the state feature a participant.
It costs $25 to support one child for one year. Twelve books of matching quality for that cost is unheard of, she said. The funding is made possible through donations from the community.
Dalrymple suggested the library reach out to surrounding schools or service organizations to become affiliates that would aid in raising funds for and advocating for Bowman’s initiative.
But to help Bowman’s library get started with its branch of the program, Dalrymple happily announced that One Oak and the North Dakota Oil Petroleum Council have already earmarked more than a $5,000 donation specifically for Bowman, and almost $1,000 for neighboring Slope County.
That donation will allow 221 children in the area to utilize the program for one year, according to Dalrymple.
“I’ve been asked before, what if we only do this for three or four years?” she said. “Then you’ve impacted children for three or four years. And that’s great.”