Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
When I was a little kid, our mailbox was perched on a wobbly wooden stand a little over a quarter mile from our house.
Then (as now), our mail was delivered three times each week. Most days (sandstorms not included), it was a pleasant bicycle ride to retrieve the offerings.
What I remember most vividly was that when summer arrived, our “Weekly Reader” newspapers came by mail, and it was always a thrill (I am not using that word lightly) to open the old mailbox and find that treasured piece of mail addressed to ME.
I expect that is the same kind of joy that little tykes in Roosevelt and DeBaca counties will soon be experiencing as they get enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL), a top-notch program that made its official debut this week.
(It’s been in Curry County for five years, and is also operating in Lea and Quay, among other New Mexico counties.)
You may know Dolly Parton best for her soaring soprano voice, her over-the-top figure and platinum blonde wigs, and the many classic songs she has penned.
But since 1995, thousands of children have come to know her as their library lady.
DPIL, the program Parton founded to make sure books were available to all children, regardless of income, has mailed out more than 130 million books since then and continues to distribute them at the mind-staggering rate of a million a month.
Here’s how it works.
DPIL operates county by county throughout the United States and in a few other countries. Once a county decides to get involved, it sets up a way to underwrite the $25.20 that it takes to send each enrolled child 12 books per year.
Children are eligible from birth through their fifth birthday, and there is no cost to enroll. There are no income or citizenship requirements. After the initial registration, all sign up materials are destroyed.
A child signed up at birth will have his/her own library of 60 children’s books when they “graduate” from the program on their fifth birthday.
Eastern New Mexico University’s first lady Edwina Gower is credited with introducing the concept to Roosevelt County, but she says Curry County Manager Lance Pyle tipped her off about the possibility.
Gower said Pyle included her in an email in July about Curry County’s involvement in DPIL. Gower arranged a meeting in Roosevelt County of interested parties (present company included) to explore the possibility of making it happen here.
She said from the beginning she saw it as “an extremely cost-effective way to get books in the hands of our youngest population,” something vital to do since “books are information and tools that help unlock creativity.”
Pyle is a fan of the program, not only from overseeing its successful run in Curry County for the past five years, but also as the father of two daughters who have “graduated” from DPIL.
He said his girls — now 5 and 6 — “still talk about their books and miss receiving them in the mail.”
Pyle said he loved how his daughters “would come running with a hug and a book” to greet him when he returned from a business trip.
“My wife and I got to see how our girls grew and their love for reading developed over the years,” Pyle said. “I will always cherish those memories.”
Counties involved in DPIL are required to have a “local affiliate” backing them. The Curry County manager’s office fills that role. The local affiliate for Roosevelt and DeBaca counties is the United Way of Eastern New Mexico.
To be clear, DPIL is not a United Way program. Rather, the United Way’s status as a 501(c)3 organization and Executive Director Erinn Burch’s commitment to young children made it a perfect fit.
Census figures report 74 children in DeBaca County in that birth-five years category, and 1,394 in Roosevelt.
Burch said she’s been told that an average affiliate typically serves about half of the eligible children in a county, and considers anything over 60 percent to be a “success.”
“Our short-term goal is to achieve 50 percent by July 2021,” Burch said. “Our long-term goal is 100 percent, which in real terms means we hope to operate in the 80-95 percent range.”
Gower and Burch are spearheading efforts to reach out to anyone and everyone with access to small tots: preschools, churches, medical clinics, daycares, etc.
Local Imagination Library supporters stand ready to do presentations, bring flyers, staff event tables … you name it. All you have to do is call the United Way at 2-1-1, and you can arrange it.
Be on the lookout for cardboard cutouts of Dolly Parton sporting a pair of reading glasses — there will be sign-up sheets in English and Spanish in an attached pocket.
Eligible individuals may also enroll online using a simple, secure form at imaginationlibrary.com; in person at the Portales Public Library, 218 S. Ave. B, or the United Way of Eastern New Mexico Office in the Matt 25 Hope Center, 1200 N. Thornton, Clovis; or by mail using the forms that will soon be available throughout our area.
The Roosevelt County program has already had significant financial support, including a pledge of three-year matching donation of $20,000 per year, Gower said.
Pyle said Curry County’s program continues to have strong community support five years in, with regular donations from local businesses, civic organizations, clubs, foundations, and local residents.
“There are no local tax dollars,” he stressed.
Interested in lending your financial support?
For Curry County, you may send a check made out to Curry County Imagination Library to Curry County Manager’s Office, 417 Gidding, Suite 100, Clovis, NM 88101.
To support the Roosevelt or DeBaca County programs, make out a check to United Way of Eastern New Mexico (with DPIL or Imagination Library in the memo line) and mail it to UWENM, P.O. Box 806, Clovis, NM 88101.
On online donation site is also available for Roosevelt and DeBaca at
where you may opt to sponsor one child for $25, or up to 20 for $500.
“A love of reading is forged when love and books intersect,” Burch said. “That snuggly time spent reading aloud is so powerful in helping a child’s brain development.”
Pyle said long before his daughters could read, they learned to recognize their names on their highly anticipated monthly packages that arrived from the Imagination Library.
Burch believes that excitement delivers an important message.
“We are saying to each child, ‘You are special. This gift is for you. You matter,’” Burch said. “Imagine the possibilities.”
Betty Williamson loves imagination and libraries and Dolly Parton. Reach her at:
