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Committee hears bill to codify Imagination Library of Oregon after statewide expansion
Summary
Lawmakers held a public hearing on HB 2811 to place the Dolly Parton Imagination Library into statute and continue state support; witnesses described statewide rollout, enrollment figures and partners, and urged codification to sustain and expand book‑gifting to children 0–5.
The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services held a public hearing on House Bill 2811, which would codify the Imagination Library of Oregon in statute and authorize the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) to contract with a nonprofit to administer the program and manage state matching funds.
State Representative Ben Bowman, who carried related measures in past sessions, told the committee the program helps address Oregon’s literacy gap by delivering one high‑quality, age‑appropriate book per month to enrolled children from birth through their fifth birthday. Bowman said about 61 percent of low‑income families lack any books in the home and highlighted the state’s recent investments to expand access.
Dorothy Spence, interim early learning programs director at the Department of Early Learning and Care, said DELC launched a statewide expansion in May 2024 using funding passed in the prior session and is partnering with the Dollywood Foundation and local program partners to administer the program. Spence and other witnesses reported that, as of the hearing, the program had mailings to over 63,000 enrolled children and has local partners in every county; the department’s next goals include reaching 65 percent of eligible children and strengthening community partnerships.
Local program leaders and nonprofit partners described on‑the‑ground results. Lori McNichols, state director for the Imagination Library of Oregon, said the program mails high‑quality books monthly and that local partners reported some enrolled households had no other books in the home. Kaylee Crystal, community engagement coordinator, provided examples of rural communities where the program became a primary source of books after local libraries were temporarily unusable. United Way representatives from multiple regions testified that the state match enabled major enrollment growth — the United Way of the Columbia‑Willamette enrolled roughly 7,500 children in three months after becoming a local partner.
Colt Gill, interim superintendent for Eugene 4J School District, and other education leaders tied early book access to later literacy outcomes and urged continued state support and codification so the program remains funded and administratively stable.
The committee did not vote on HB 2811 during the hearing. Chair Hartman closed public testimony and said written testimony will be available and the committee may consider the bill in a future work session.
Why this matters: supporters said the program inserts high‑quality books into homes early and is a low‑cost, high‑return intervention to improve early literacy; witnesses emphasized the public‑private partnership model and state matching funds that enabled statewide rollout.
