By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Wood County’s libraries are having to reimagine the financing for the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
The program, in its fourth year in the county, sends free books every month to kids age birth to 5 who sign up.
When the program as launched in February 2020. The United Way of Greater Toledo agreed to be the fiscal agent, and spearhead raising the funds to keep the program going. The cost of the program is split between the state, which pays half, and the local share through it fiscal agent. First lady Fran DeWine is an ardent proponent of the program and brought it to Ohio, in hopes of having it available in all 88 counties.
The local share of the program is based on the number of children participating. Of the children eligible in Wood County, 61.4 percent, or 4,201, are participating. That brings the local share up to $55,000.
The goal, Michael Penrod, director of the Wood County District Library, said, is to have 65 percent, which would be an increase of about 250 children. That would increase the county’s local share by about $5,300.
Now the United Way has backed out of its involvement with the program.
Penrod said he met with Wendy Pestrue, the chief executive officer of UW, last month to talk about the program. Given the United Way had closed its Wood County office, he expected the discussion would be about how the program would continue going forward.
Instead, he was informed that United Way was ending its involvement in the program by the end of the year.
Pestrue told BG Independent that while the program is “wonderful” and that promoting literacy among children is important, United Way must focus its funding in other directions. Feeding and housing those in need are the greater priorities, she said. Cuts in Medicaid, and other social service programs in a time of rising inflation is forcing the organization “to focus on those very basic needs.”
While United Way helped incubate the Dolly project, Pestrue said, now libraries need to turn to their own resources to keep the program going. “Everyone has to innovate constantly,” she said. “This is just part of innovating. It’s new chapter.”
“I thought this was set in stone, that the professional fundraisers would raising the funds,” Penrod said.
The local libraries provided the funding, initially just over $30,000 to get the program underway, and have provided the funds needed to keep it going. The Wood County library’s share for the third and fourth years came from a donor, Penrod said.
The state also did not bill the local program for the first three months of this year.
United Way officials suggested that Wood County District Public Library take on the role of fiscal agent.
Not possible, Penrod said. The library district is not a county-wide organization. Though it is the largest library system of seven in the county with a service area that’s spread throughout the county, WCDPL only serves 48 percent of the population. Perrysburg’s Way serves 19 percent, while the smallest, North Baltimore serves about 3 percent.
The Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library service is based on zip codes, Penrod said, “zip codes don’t follow my service area.” WCDPL doesn’t even serve every household with a BG zip code because those households are in the Otsego School District, which is in the Weston library’s service area.
The WCDPL serves all areas of the county not served by the other six library systems: Way in Perrysburg, Rossford, Pemberville, North Baltimore, Wayne, and Weston.
The libraries have proposed collectively assuming the role of local affiliate as of Jan. 1, 2024. The funding would run through the Woodlink Agency Fund that has been used for 30 years to fund cooperative projects.
“That’s additional fundraising to take on,” Penrod said. “It’s not insignificant.”
This must be approved by all seven library boards. So far six library boards have met and approved the arrangement with Wayne scheduled to meet later this month.
The Imagination Library has been a success.
Penrod has seen it in his own home with his son. The four-year-old loves getting the “Dolly” books, and that spurs more visits to the library. If he reads a book about a worm, for example, then he wants to read more about worms.
That’s common, Penrod said.
Studies show the benefits of children growing up in households with books. When a child can keep a book, librarians say, their interest in reading increases.
“Early literacy is core,” Penrod said. “If we care about kids being ready for kindergarten, if we care about kids passing the third grade reading guarantee, then this is the right thing to do.”
