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Brooke County Library asks board to help boost Dolly Parton Imagination Library enrollment with new "Growing Readers" kits
Summary
Library representative Alex Schneider told the Brooke County Board of Education the county’s Imagination Library is now fully funded but lags in enrollment; the library unveiled a "Growing Readers" kit and asked the board to help with outreach, including a planned billboard and back-to-school events.
Alex Schneider, representing the Brooke County Library, told the Brooke County Board of Education that the library is expanding early-literacy outreach and seeking help from the board to increase enrollment in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program.
Schneider said the library operates two locations with a 12-member staff and runs summer reading, story hours and family programs that pair meals with literacy events. Schneider introduced a new Growing Readers kit tied to the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative and said the library now offers digital one-year access cards that provide e-books, audiobooks, magazines and databases without requiring ID.
"We're at the halfway mark," Schneider told the board, summarizing enrollment: "there's about 800 to 1,000 kids that estimates per what the Department of Ed says the number of kids are eligible in your county, and that's where we've been, and we literally sat at about 400 some registered." Schneider said the county program has moved into a fully funded "growth mode," allowing the library to approve every eligible child who registers rather than place them on a waiting list.
Schneider described partnerships that support the effort, including donations of printed books from a regional partner and coordination with Parents as Teachers, the health department and the CASA office for a Baby Safety Shower and other family events. The presentation noted the June Harless Center at Marshall University as the state hub for program administration.
Board members asked how to expand outreach; Schneider requested graphics and promotional support and said the library will participate in back-to-school events and a planned read-aloud day in August. The board and staff discussed placing a billboard to promote registration; staff agreed to circulate proposed art and messaging for quick approval.
The library director also emphasized smaller, practical steps to increase signups: targeted handouts at events, in-branch registration assistance and incentives tied to read-aloud and sign-up days. Schneider said the Imagination Library items are fully funded in the county and that local sponsorship has enabled direct, on‑the‑spot approvals for eligible children.
The board did not take formal policy action during the presentation but approved continuing collaboration on outreach materials and events. The library will provide promotional materials to district staff for rapid deployment ahead of the August outreach day.
