To celebrate the opening of the space, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his wife Fran made a stop at the clinic on Monday. The First Lady read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” with help from Gov. DeWine to county Head Start students. The DeWines were joined by Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, and Amy Cooper, director of the Portage/Columbiana County WIC Program.

“We are so fortunate to have Gov. DeWine, First Lady DeWine and Dr. Vanderhoff and our Head Start children here with us to showcase our new Imagination Library,” Cooper said. “We will be providing free books and hopefully through this project continue to create a lifelong love of learning.”

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio mails kids one free book each month until his or her 5th birthday. Any child in Ohio between birth and age 5 can sign up for this free program. Children who are not already enrolled in the program can now be signed up during visits to the WIC clinic.

The reading spaces will be installed at WIC clinics statewide. The spaces are cozy, colorful areas stocked with books for kids to enjoy as their families spend time at the clinic. Each reading space features a QR code that families can scan to enroll their children in the Imagination Library program.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and county GOP chairman Dave Johnson chat during DeWine’s surprise stop at the Columbiana County Headquarters on Monday. DeWine and his wife Fran were in town to celebrate the opening of a new reading space inside the county WIC clinic. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

Inspired by his wife’s passion of reading and improving the lives of children in the state, Gov. DeWine established the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library in collaboration with Parton’s program. Prior to 2019, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was only available in pockets of Ohio — about 13% of eligible kids had access to the program. It is now available in all 88 counties of Ohio at no cost to families. In July 2022, the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library updated its name to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio.

To learn more about the initiative or to enroll in the program, visit ohioimaginationlibrary.org.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio First Lady Fran stopped in at the Columbiana County WIC clinic on Monday afternoon to read a book to Head Start students in celebration of the opening of a new reading space for children. Developed by the Ohio Department of Health and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, the reading spaces are cozy, colorful areas stocked with books for kids to enjoy as their families spend time at the clinic. Each reading space features a QR code that families can scan to enroll their children in the Imagination Library program. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)