{"id":56583,"date":"2026-04-01T11:32:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T15:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=56583"},"modified":"2026-04-01T11:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T15:34:06","slug":"letter-support-for-hb-1663-and-imagination-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=56583","title":{"rendered":"Letter: Support for HB 1663 and Imagination Libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><strong>To the<span class=\"s1\"> Editor:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-21291\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Letters1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"140\" \/>I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for House Bill 1663, which the Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently approved, moving us closer to establishing a statewide Dolly Parton&#8217;s Imagination Library. The bill is now before the <b>Senate Education Committee <\/b>for <span class=\"s1\">review.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">A statewide program would provide a <b>50%<\/b><b> <\/b><b>state<\/b><b> <\/b><b>match<\/b><b> <\/b><b>for<\/b><b> <\/b><b>books<\/b><b> <\/b><b>and<\/b><b> <\/b><b>postage<\/b>, allowing local programs to serve twice as many children for the same funds raised. This investment would exponentially increase access to high-quality books for young children across Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><b>The Imagination Library matters to our community because it fosters a love of reading, supports<\/b><b> <\/b><b>early<\/b><b> <\/b><b>childhood<\/b><b> <\/b><b>development,<\/b><b> <\/b><b>and<\/b><b> <\/b><b>helps<\/b><b> <\/b><b>prepare<\/b><b> <\/b><b>children<\/b><b> <\/b><b>for<\/b><b> <\/b><b>academic<\/b><b> <\/b><b>success<\/b>.<!--more--><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\">The program complements the efforts of local schools and libraries, including Kennett Library, providing families with valuable resources to engage children in reading from an early age. <b>To date, the Chester County Imagination Library has registered 10,926 <\/b><span class=\"s1\"><b>children<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\">It plays a vital role in supporting school readiness and encouraging family engagement around books and learning.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\">The Imagination Library is cost-efficient and scalable, benefiting all children under age five, regardless of family income.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\">By leveraging public-private partnerships, we can maximize our impact and reach more children throughout the state.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\">Continued investment in early literacy will yield long-term educational and economic returns for Pennsylvania.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p6\">I urge our lawmakers to support HB 1663 so that more Pennsylvania children and families can benefit from this valuable program. Attached, you will find important information regarding Dolly Parton\u2019s Imagination Library.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Thank you for your attention to this important matter. <span class=\"s1\">Sincerely,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Chris Manna<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong><em>Executive Director of the Kennett Library<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To the Editor: I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for House Bill 1663, which the Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently approved, moving us closer to establishing a statewide Dolly Parton&#8217;s Imagination Library. The bill is now before the Senate Education Committee for review. A statewide program would provide a 50% state match for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16287,8416,5890],"class_list":["post-56583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","tag-imagination-library","tag-kennett-library","tag-letters-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56583"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56584,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56583\/revisions\/56584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}