By Edmond Ortiz
National Library Week is taking place this week, April 19-25, and at least one local literary program is lauding the celebration by promoting the importance of reading.
What you should know
Imagination Library San Antonio is an affiliate of a nationwide venture that star musician Dolly Parton launched in the mid-1990s as a monthly book-gifting program, which mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five, regardless of their family’s income.
The local affiliate gifts books to children who reside in one of 20 select San Antonio ZIP codes, and the organization is raising funds to expand eligibility.
Alexa Volpe led the effort to create a San Antonio edition of Imagination Library in 2022 after she enrolled her first child following the baby’s birth in a Georgia hospital. Volpe said that act helped to foster an early love of reading among her children.
ILSA became an official affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in summer 2024, and has since experienced significant growth since inception, driven by a board of directors whose members work to advance literacy.
Gifts from H-E-B and The Awesome Foundation helped to provide initial funding for ILSA, and other local individuals, families, businesses and philanthropies are encouraged to donate to the organization.
What they are saying
As of this spring, ILSA has registered more than 1,000 children in its program and mailed 5,000-plus books, according to a news release. The main Imagination Library program has gifted more than 250 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland with support from organizations such as Parton’s Dollywood Foundation.
“We’re thrilled to hit the ground running and get books in the hands of our youngest
community members,” Volpe said in a statement.
“San Antonio’s children deserve access to this program and there is now a local non-profit bringing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to children in our city.This is a wonderful resource that allows children and their families to build their own personal libraries.”
After a child is signed up, families can expect one book to arrive by snail mail on a monthly basis at a child’s home in designated coverage areas.
The following zip codes qualify for families to receive free books: 78202, 78203,78204, 78205, 78206, 78207, 78208, 78210, 78211, 78214, 78215, 78219, 78220, 78225, 78226, 78228, 78235, 78236, 78237 and 78121.
In 2025, ILSA partnered with AVANCE’s Head Start program to enroll eligible Head Start families into the program as
“We’re working with AVANCE, and also we have identified 20 zip codes for eligible families to sign up and receive free books,” Volpe said in a statement. “We hope to expand in the coming months and years.”
Imagination Library of San Antonio has an ongoing partnership with San Antonio Public Library where they team up to provide storytimes and program awareness, the release stated.
