Country music icon, Dolly Parton, grew up in a household where her father could neither read or write. This experience has led to her creating a charity that now benefits children in the Western Plains.

Ms Parton started her Imagination Library in 1995 for the children within her home county in Tennessee. Today, her program spans five countries and gifts over two million free books each month to children around the world including in our local region.

In late 2021, the New South Wales government announced it would fund the program in the state's 25 most vulnerable local government areas, with the plan to target 15,000 children over five years at a cost of $8 million.

Locations in the scheme include Bourke, Gilgandra, Coonamble, Narromine, Gilgandra, Nyngan, Brewarrina and Coonabarabran.

The scheme sees registered children receiving one new book once every month until they turn five, giving them important exposure to the world of books and reading.

Librarian assistant, Bronwyn Wood who works at Bourke Public Library said the local library have been involved in the scheme for under a year but can clearly see the benefits to the community.

"We see people who are not big readers appreciating they can build up a library for their kids at home," Ms Wood said. "New babies get board books and the books progress in levels as the children grow. It's a great idea and the fact books are sent to homes is definitely a bonus as mums don’t have to venture out if they don’t want to."

According to research, children whose parents read to them every day when they were two to three year old had higher Year 3 reading scores on average according to standardised testing. This was compared to children whose parents read to them less frequently.

In 2013, a joint effort between Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the United Way Australia began. Not for profit group United Way began in Australia 50 years ago with a focus on education. The partnership helped bring the program to Australia in 2014 making it the fourth nation and third continent to launch the Imagination Library.

Local children across the western plains can sign up for Dolly's free books at their shire library.

Ms Wood said the Bourke Library often received books sent to the local post office that weren't claimed by families.

"Being a small community, we usually know the people and someone generally gets in touch with them to come an pick the books up," she said.

Ms Wood said local Bourke children were often enrolled into the program by health professionals.

"The mums and grandparents love it," she said. "We often say they should throw in a book for the parents as well!"

Program coverage in Australia extended to communities in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland. To check availability in your local area, ask your friendly librarian in your regions library.

As Ms Parton's Imagination Library website says, "The seeds of dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world.”