Smart Start and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library are working together to bring books to North Carolina’s youngest children through funding provided by the North Carolina General Assembly.

During the 2017 legislative session, North Carolina state lawmakers included $3.5 million in the first year of the budget and $7 million in the second year for the Smart Start network to offer free books through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to children across the state. Imagination Library is a program created to foster a love of reading among children age birth to five through the gift of a specially selected book delivered right to their home each month.

Registration Details

The Partnership is excited to be sharing Dolly Parton's Imagination Library with even more children in Lincoln and Gaston Counties, targeting the following zip codes in Lincoln County: 28092, 28033 & 28021 and in Gaston County: 28016, 28021, 28052, 28054, 28077 & 28101.

If you experience any difficulty registering for this program, contact the Partnership at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Visit Smart Start to learn more about the partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

This program teaches parents developmentally appropriate parenting practices that support positive parent/child interactions.

It serves as a centralized source of support for parents of children ages birth through five.

This program is provided by Gaston County Cooperative Extension.

This services offers: workshops, seminars, newsletters, lending library, and monthly home visits.

(704) 922-2122

This program offers intensive services and support to parents who have children ages 0-5, or who are expecting.

This program is provided by Lincoln County Department of Social Services.

This service officers in-home visits, case management and group meetings.

Reach Out and Read works within Gaston County Health Services to provide books for children six months to five years old. Every book, based on age, is given to the child by his or her doctor at each well-child visit. The program is designed to promote early literacy in children and show the importance of parents reading to their children. 

Reach Out and Read prepares America’s youngest children for success in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. Doctors and nurses who are trained in Reach Out and Read perform routine health checkups from infancy through five years not only with a stethoscope, but also with a children’s book. The book is used as a clinical tool to encourage parents to read aloud, to give them a simple, practical way of spending time and engaging in conversation with their young children.