Updated 09/19/2017

Proclaimed by Gov. Bill Haslam, this week has been set aside to honor Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a program that provides a free, age-appropriate book in the mail each month to children from birth to 5 years old. The Governor's Books From Birth Foundation partners with the Imagination Library and is celebrating more than 30 million books mailed to Tennessee’s children since 2004.

Research shows early exposure to books improves cognitive skills, and Tennessee research shows that Imagination Library participants enter school more prepared to learn, score higher on reading assessments into the third grade, and are more likely to have better school attendance and reduced rates of suspension.

In assessing workforce needs with employers,  Tennessee Department Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips finds that employers consider literacy skills, including the ability to read, comprehend and effectively communicate what they read as essentials skills in a workforce.

Help celebrate Imagination Library Week on social media and participate in the #GotcaughtReading social challenge by posting a photograph of you reading with a child.