At the bottom of the winding stairs of the Eugene Public Library, First Lady of Oregon Amy Kotek-Wilson read "The Rabbit Listened." Young children and their parents gathered to hear the story read aloud.

Behind the First Lady, a cardboard cutout of Dolly Parton held a book with the Imagination Library logo on it.

Imagination Library is an international program launched by Parton in 1995 to combat illiteracy. Inspired by her father’s inability to read, she started the program in Tennessee, in the same county she grew up in.

Three decades later, the program has partners around the world.

Through the program, Parton and Imagination Library staff choose books to mail monthly to children from birth to age five, negotiating discounted mailing costs.

Oregon joined the program in 2007 with

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