FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Yes! We are a 501(c)(3) organization, so your contribution is tax-deductible.

Our organization is run entirely by volunteers, so 100% of your donation will be used to purchase books for children.

Please email us at info@ilbarthco.org or call us at (812) 373-6432, and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.

We are the local program affiliate for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. We mail high-quality, developmentally appropriate books once a month to local children to help increase kindergarten readiness rates in Bartholomew County, Indiana. Each child can receive up to 60 books by the time they enter kindergarten.

Forty-one percent of Bartholomew County children cannot identify letters or the sounds those letters make when they enter kindergarten. These basic pre-literacy skills are an important foundation for reading success, and learning to read is easier for children who already have these skills.

Research has shown that children who have access to books before kindergarten achieve a higher reading proficiency and do better academically in later years, regardless of their parent’s income, education level, or occupation. Unfortunately, if a child does not read proficiently by fourth grade, there is a greater likelihood that the child will drop out of high school, be unemployed, live in poverty, and be incarcerated.

All children under age 4 who live in Bartholomew County, Indiana, are eligible, regardless of income level. Children "graduate" from our program the month that they turn 5.

The books are chosen each year by a team of early literacy experts. The books are age-appropriate, so younger children receive books with fewer words, bold contrasts, and large pictures, whereas older children receive books with storylines, a greater variety of words, and more complex pictures. Each child receives two bilingual books (Spanish and English) per year.

You may find our quick and easy online registration form here. You will need to enter your child’s name, birthdate, and gender and the parent’s name, address, email, and phone number.

Yes! We have many grandparents who receive books at their houses for their grandchildren. For a smooth delivery, please be sure to put the grandparent’s name in place of the parent’s name on the registration form so that the name of the adult on the mailing label is the person who lives at that address.

Yes, absolutely! We encourage parents to register all of their eligible children to receive books. Children born in different calendar years receive different books.

Children born in the same year receive the same books, so twins and triplets will receive identical books, and they will each have their own set.

Each child receives one book each month. In subsequent months, the timing of the books’ arrival depends on the age of the child: for older children (ages 3 and 4), the books arrive towards the beginning of the month, and for younger children, the books arrive towards the end of the month.

At the beginning of each month, our local program volunteers send the list of new registrations from the previous month to the people who prepare the mailing labels and books to be shipped the following month. This means that there can be a bit of lag time from when you register your child to when they receive their first book. For example, if you sign your child up in mid-July, then in August, their first book will be prepared for shipping in September. If you would like to double-check the timing of their registration and first book delivery, we’d be happy to help, please contact us via our Contact Page.

Children born in different years receive their books at different times of the month. All the books for all the programs in the United States are shipped from a single facility, and they ship one book title at a time. Older children may expect to receive their books towards the beginning of the month, and younger children may expect to receive their books towards the end of the month.

You may change your address by logging into your account. Your email address is your username. Once you log in, click on your child’s name and then on “Update Address.” If you are unable to change your address this way, please contact us, and we will be happy to help you with the change.