Hawaiʻi keiki could start building their own libraries at home through a new bill that would establish the “Imagination Library." The program, which started in 1995 under Dolly Parton, delivers one free book each month to kids from birth to age 5.
Parton started the service in her Tennessee hometown in hopes of inspiring a love of reading and education among kids. Scott Herrick, the U.S. state relations director for the Imagination Library, explained that the service has been vital in getting kids ready for kindergarten.
“Our mission is to inspire lifelong love of reading, and it's regardless of family income,” Herrick said. “Since its inception, we've gifted over 300 million books globally, and I think it's probably one of the best programs children can access to go to school with a prepared foundation for literacy.”
In 2019, the program reached Hawaiʻi, and “ʻOhana Readers” was established, which served keiki on Molokaʻi and other regions across the islands that did not have easy access to libraries or physical books. The new bill would expand the service statewide, making every Hawaiʻi keiki eligible.
Sergio Alcubilla, a Hawaiʻi resident and father of two, explained the importance of reading and literacy in the age of technology.
“This is one of the things I’ve been struggling with, is getting our kids off their devices and telling them to read a book, and they say, ‘I don’t have a book,’” Alcubilla said.
Imagination Library has a predetermined set of age-appropriate books that keiki can choose from, which made state lawmakers question if the selection could be modified to represent the uniqueness of Hawaiʻi. Some are asking that books from local authors who write in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi could not only be added to the options, but also prioritized over their counterparts.
Herrick said the selection committee meets regularly to review the book selection, adding that he could make an “urgent request” to modify the selection if the bill were to pass.
The bill passed through the House Committee on Finance and will next be heard by the full floor.
