Burns: Dolly Parton touched the lives of many local children
Dolly Parton Imagination Library gifted 193K books to Cambria County children
Rep. Frank Burns August 25, 2026 | 3:24 PM
JOHNSTOWN, Aug. 25 — State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, who worked to bring the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to Cambria County five years ago, today mourned the passing of Dolly Parton, praising her as a champion of child literacy who left a legacy of educating children to achieve their dreams.
“Dolly Parton touched the lives of many children—and many right here in Cambria County,” Burns said. “She had a vision to foster a love of reading in all children and she made it happen. Like her, I’ve always believed that reading is a gateway skill that makes all other learning possible, which is why I wanted to help bring the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to our area. And thanks to her library, more than 193,000 books were distributed to young readers in Cambria County in the four years the library was in operation.”
The DPIL opened at Saint Francis University in 2021 thanks to a state grant secured by Burns and remained open until last year.
The program gifted books free of charge to children from birth to age 5. Since its founding in 1995, the DPIL has gifted more than 300 million books to children in five countries, according to its website.
Parton has said she created the Imagination Library as a tribute to her father, who couldn’t read or write. “He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams,” Parton wrote in a letter posted on the DPIL’s website, https://imaginationlibrary.com.
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“Dolly Parton touched the lives of many children—and many right here in Cambria County. She had a vision to foster a love of reading in all children and she made it happen.” – Rep. Burns
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