Dolly Parton died Tuesday, Aug. 25, at age 80, but the Imagination Library she built from her father's inability to read will continue mailing free books to children in Warrenville and West Chicago every month.

The country music legend and philanthropist died peacefully in Nashville, her nephew Bryan Seaver announced in a video posted to her Instagram account. Parton had canceled a Las Vegas residency in May 2026 citing immune and digestive system issues.

Locally, the Warrenville Public Library District operates the program as part of a Winfield Township library cohort that also includes Winfield Library and West Chicago Library. Any family with a child under five can enroll and receive one free, age-appropriate book in the mail each month until the child's fifth birthday. A child enrolled from birth receives up to 60 books at no cost.

In West Chicago, the nonprofit WeGo Together for Kids administers the program for all city residents with children under five.

Funding for the local programs comes from a mix of sources: the Dollywood Foundation, the State of Illinois (which covers half the local sponsorship cost), KidsMatter, a local 501(c)(3), and The Hillcrest Fund. Warrenville families can choose to receive books in English or bilingual English/Spanish.

Parton started the Imagination Library in 1995 in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee, after growing up the fourth of 12 children in a one-room cabin. Her father, Robert Lee Parton, never learned to read or write.

"When I got this idea to do the Imagination Library I wanted to get Daddy involved in it," Parton wrote on her website in 2020. "I wanted him to help me with that so he could take the pride in that and so he did. He got to live long enough to hear the kids call me the Book Lady."

The program has since grown to five countries. As of August 2026, more than 318 million books have been gifted worldwide, with 3.2 million children currently registered. In Illinois alone, 108,914 children receive books, and the program operates in 93 of the state's 102 counties. Governor JB Pritzker launched the statewide partnership in December 2023, allocating $1.6 million in the state budget with dollar-for-dollar matching of local fundraising.

Beyond the Imagination Library, Parton sold more than 100 million records and won 11 Grammy Awards across a career spanning more than 60 years, according to NBC News. She also donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University in April 2020 to help fund Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine research.

Warrenville families can enroll online at imaginationlibrary.com or pick up a paper form at the library's Youth Services Desk (630-393-1171, ext. 124). Books arrive eight to 12 weeks after enrollment.