Joanna Bailey was already a big Dolly Parton fan, but her admiration and appreciation went way up through a shared interest of theirs, which is reading books.

The longtime director of the Bay Minette Public Library, Joanna is also the Baldwin County coordinator for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The program delivers a new age-appropriate book, free of charge, each month to the homes of young children, hopefully encouraging a lifelong love of reading. The superstar singer, songwriter, and actress started it 31 years ago in her home county in Tennessee, in honor of her father, who went to work at an early age and never learned to read or write. Today, it regularly distributes millions of books across the United States and in several other countries.

Joanna brought the program to Bay Minette in 2002 as a regional sponsor, and the following year it began a statewide expansion in conjunction with Gov. Kay Ivey's literacy initiative. Joanna was a natural choice to lead the Imagination Library into other parts of Baldwin County, and since then, it has had many positive impacts.

"I hear all the time from parents and grandparents that it's the best thing ever," says Joanna. "The kids love it and get so excited when the new book arrives, addressed to them by name, and they want that book read to them over and over."

For families who sign up, the program starts at the child's birth and continues until they reach age 5, just before they head off to school and learn to read on their own. Joanna loves that Dolly's approach includes warm, personalized touches that reflect her legendarily gracious personality.

"I think some of the kids think of Dolly as a relative," says Joanna, "because she's sending something to them every month and each book has a note from her. And then when they graduate they get a graduation book and an email message from her that congratulates them and wishes them well as they start school."

Already quite popular in Baldwin County, the program has seen a dramatic rise in interest since Dolly's unexpected passing on Aug. 25. A total of 1,714 youngsters have completed the program countywide, and as of last week, 5,425 were enrolled.

"The day after she died, there were so many people trying to register that the whole online system was shutting down," says Joanna. "I had over 300 new registrations in one day, and usually I'll have 10 or 12. It's been like that every single day. A lot of people have told me, 'I've been meaning to do this for a long time, and I'm finally getting around to it.'"

On one hand, all this new interest is exciting for Joanna and others involved with the Imagination Library. She says it's also daunting in a way because it means she's going to have to secure more funding to serve so many more young people.

The program works by having the Dollywood Foundation publish the books and ship them from a single post office in Knoxville, Joanna says, but recipients must share some of the costs.

"The local sponsor is responsible for paying the wholesale cost of the book and the postage, and we get a nonprofit postage rate," Joanna says. "It comes out to $31 per child per year for 12 books, and that's for an entire year. Luckily, the state pays half of that, so we only have to pay $15.50 per child per year.

Various grants and private contributions help fund the program, and people can also donate directly on Imagination Library's official website, with funds earmarked specifically for the program in Baldwin County.

"It's terrifying, but it's exciting at the same time," Joanna says. "When you do the math, $15.50 for 5,425 kids a year is almost $85,000. I try not to think about that because I want to keep this program going in perpetuity, but that's why I keep pursuing all the grants and other funding sources that I can. Every little bit helps."

Some of that financial support comes from a nonprofit organization of volunteers called the Friends of the Fairhope Library, which has promoted the program for years and recently contributed $10,000.

"It's a wonderful program, and we want to encourage anything that helps children develop their love of books," says Randal Wright, the group's president. "Statistics have shown that children that are read to when they're young do much better in school. It helps to build their vocabulary and it not only prepares them for school but prepares them to be successful in school."

And with Dolly as a shining example, it could even provide a spark of inspiration that could help them lead richer lives and follow some very big dreams of their own. Beyond global recognition, she also honored her father in a small way that has grown into more than 332 million books provided so far to children around the world.

Locally, Joanna is excited to get closer to a goal of her own: enrolling at least 65 percent of eligible children in Baldwin County in Imagination Library. That would mean about 7,000 children have early exposure to books. She considers that to be a tremendous part of the magnetic and charismatic Dolly Parton's overall legacy.

"People will remember her, of course, for her music and her other achievements, but she was also such a good person that did so much for so many people," says Joanna. "She loved everyone. She should be the patron saint of all things wonderful."