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Month: September 2026

Page Ahead Forges New Partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Posted on by Laura Le

In 1995, Dolly Parton started mailing free books to children in her home county in Tennessee, because she wanted every child, no matter their family’s circumstances, to grow up loving to read. That idea has grown into Imagination Library, a program now reaching children across the country, including here in Washington.

This fall, Page Ahead took on a new role in our community’s reading landscape: Local Program Partner for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, in both King and Spokane counties.

Imagination Library mails a free, age-appropriate book to a child’s home every month, from birth until their fifth birthday. It’s a simple idea with a big impact, and it’s one that fits naturally with what Page Ahead has done since 1990: put books directly into children’s hands.

“Page Ahead was founded 36 years ago to give books to kids, and every child deserves the chance to build a home library of their own,” said Susan Dibble, Executive Director of Page Ahead. “We’re proud to join Imagination Library of Washington’s network of partners and help make sure no family is left without access to books simply because of where they live.”

This partnership means more families across Washington will wake up to a book in the mailbox each month.  And, it’s one more way Page Ahead’s community of staff, volunteers, and partners is working to close the reading gap.

“We are beyond thrilled to have full Imagination Library book service available across King and Spokane counties once again,” said Brooke Fisher-Clark, Executive Director of Imagination Library of Washington. “We are excited to partner with Page Ahead to inspire a love of reading and bring children and families together through the joy of books.”

Families in either county can enroll a child from birth to age five at imaginationlibrarywashington.org. The program is free for families and sustained through public and private support.

Dolly passed away on August 25, 2026. All of us at Page Ahead are honored to nurture her legacy here in Washington and help carry her vision of a book in every child’s hands forward.

Page Ahead Named Washington State’s Only 2026 Library of Congress Literacy Award Honoree

Posted on by Laura Le

On International Literacy Day, we’re proud to share that Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program has been named a Successful Practices Honoree in the 2026 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program. Page Ahead is one of just 21 organizations worldwide to receive this recognition this year, and one of 15 honored specifically for a successful, replicable approach to literacy. And, we are very proud to note, the only organization honored this year from Washington state.

We were selected for something simple, and something Page Ahead has focused on since our founding in 1990: being read to as a youngster is the foremost predictor of academic success in childhood.  And when a child gets to choose a book, keep it, and read it with a trusted adult, they get to experience the joys of reading while building the skills they need to succeed in school and life.

What the award recognizes

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program, generously supported by philanthropist David M. Rubenstein since 2013 and the Kislak Family Foundation since 2024, honors organizations doing exemplary and replicable work to advance literacy in the United States and abroad. Page Ahead was recognized for a practice built on three things: book choice, book ownership, and the presence of a trusted adult in a child’s reading life.

“This recognition reflects something we’ve believed since our founding: when children get to choose their own books to keep and call their own, their excitement to read is shared with the whole family,” said Susan Dibble, Page Ahead’s Executive Director. “We’re so honored that the Library of Congress is showcasing these practices on a national stage, because every child, no matter their zip code or family income, deserves to see themselves as a reader.”

This is Page Ahead’s second time being recognized by the Library of Congress. We received a State Literacy Award in 2021.

Last year alone, Page Ahead gave more than 238,000 new books to over 22,500 children across 15 counties in Washington. Since our founding, we’ve put more than five million new books into the hands of more than one million children, working alongside schools, social service agencies, preschools, and early childhood programs throughout the state.

What this means going forward

Awards like this one matter to us because of what they make possible. The recognition helps us reach more communities, deepen partnerships with schools and funders, and keep building on an approach that our own data, and now the Library of Congress, tells us is working.

We’re grateful to the Library of Congress, David M. Rubenstein, and the Kislak Family Foundation for this honor, and even more grateful to the schools, teachers, families, volunteers, and donors who make this work possible every day. This award belongs to our whole community.