JessamynApr 23, 2023

One of the things I have been happiest to do as ALA's Vermont Chapter Councilor is to vote to give Dolly Parton an honorary lifetime membership.

We voted on this in January. For some ALA reason the press release came out Thursday. Please enjoy this READ poster with national treasure, Dolly Parton.

https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/04/dolly-parton-awarded-honorary-membership-american-library-association

Dolly Parton Awarded Honorary Membership in the American Library Association

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) is set to confer an honorary lifetime membership upon award-winning singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist Dolly Parton for her longstanding support and commitment to inspiring a love of books and reading. Recommended by the ALA Executive Board and elected by the ALA Council, honorary membership is the highest honor given by the Association and conferred upon a living person whose outstanding contributions have made a lasting impact on librarianship, libraries, and the communities they serve.

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Show threadTobyApr 23, 2023

@jessamyn Dolly Parton founded an organization that will send books to children. For free. Just because she wants them to read.

https://imaginationlibrary.com/

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AU

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.

Show threadJessamynApr 23, 2023
@xenotrope I am a huge fan of that project; it is worth understanding that her program does logistics, administration, and a bunch of other stuff, but there are local partners who are responsible for paying for the books. Doesn't mean it's any less wonderful, but it just means a lot of other people also deserve credit and I think there are many people who don't understand exactly how it works.
Show threadTobyApr 23, 2023

@jessamyn I don't understand how a lot of things work, but I know Dolly Parton finances a bunch of aid programs. She helps young kids get books, her Dollywood employment program helps pay for schooling regardless of one's tenure or position, and she partially financed one of the COVID vaccine research projects.

She could be a billionaire if she wanted to be... but she keeps spending too much money trying to help people.

Don't be like Elon. Be like Dolly.

Show threadJessamyn
@xenotrope Yep, just an all around great person.
Apr 23, 2023 at 2:47pmWeb