LOS ANGELES, 25 August, 2026 (Nosheen): Country music icon Dolly Parton wanted to be remembered not only for her celebrated music career but also for her efforts to promote childhood literacy through her Imagination Library charity programme. Parton, who died on August 25 at the age of 80, launched the book-gifting initiative in 1995 in honour of her father, Robert Lee Parton, who could not read or write. Speaking about the programme in her 2020 documentary The Library That Dolly Built, Parton described her work with children as one of the achievements of which she was most proud. “My dad couldn’t read or write and that was kind of crippling to him,” she said, recalling how her father’s experience inspired the initiative. The Imagination Library provides free books to children from birth to the age of five, helping encourage a love of reading from an early age. Parton later became affectionately known among young recipients as “the book lady.”In a 2019 interview, she recalled that her father lived long enough to hear children call her by the nickname and said he was proud of her achievement. Asked whether she would prefer to be remembered as the “country music queen” or the “book lady,” Parton replied without hesitation: “The book lady.” She said she loved the opportunity to work with children and stressed the importance of making a positive impression on them when they are young and teaching them the right values early in life.Through the Imagination Library, Parton leaves behind a lasting legacy beyond music, with millions of children benefiting from access to books and early literacy.