The Great Falls Raising Readers Committee is hosting a launch party for their Dolly Patron Imagination Library on May 10.

The library is an initiative through Montana’s First Lady Susan Gianforte and her Montana Treasure State Foundation.

The program gives a free book monthly to enrolled children from birth to age five.

So far, the program has enrolled more than 600 children or about 12 percent of those eligible, according to the Cascade City-County Health Department, which is a member of the Great Falls Raising Readers Committee.

The local kickoff party for the program is at 10:30 a.m. May 10 at the Great Falls Public Library.

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The Great Falls Public Library is also a member of the Raising Readers Committee, which is part of the Early Childhood Coalition.

The coalition been sharing books in Cascade County since 2013 through the Ferst Readers Foundation and they have been able to enroll about 200 babies annually to receive free books monthly.

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Through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, the committee hopes to enroll every baby born in the county annually, or about 750 babies per year.

Susie McIntyre, GFPL director, said that if they reach the committee’s goal of enrolling 95 percent of the eligible children, “it will be transformational” for child literacy.

The Great Falls Public Library Foundation is the nonprofit sponsoring agency of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for the county.

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Local families can sign up for the program here.

Any child from birth to 4.5-years old who lives in Cascade County is eligible to register for the program.

Enrolled children will receive a free book in the mail every month until their fifth birthday.

There is no cost to families for the program.

For questions, contact the GFPL Youth Services staff at 406-453-0349, ext. 215 or rmcfadden@greatfallslibrary.org.