Council hails Dolly Parton library scheme success: VOTE

DOLLY PARTON’S Imagination Library has still to catch the imagination of more than a third of Rotherham's under fives.Latest figures released following a Freedom of Information request from activist Don Buxton show that 59 per cent of under fives hav

DOLLY PARTON’S Imagination Library has still to catch the imagination of more than a third of Rotherham's under fives.

Latest figures released following a Freedom of Information request from activist Don Buxton show that 59 per cent of under fives have been signed up to the scheme, but 41 per cent have yet to join two years after the launch.

 

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Donations to the scheme have stuck at £1,880 and, despite hopes that it would be backed by council employees, just 20 have signed-up to the payroll deduction scheme.

This week, the borough council said that they were pleased with the progress, but not complacent.

A borough council spokeswoman said: “We are very pleased with the take-up which is even more successful than the schemes across North America where, on average, it takes three years to reach the 60 per cent mark.

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“However, we are not complacent and we will certainly push on with trying to reach as many under-fives across Rotherham as we can, to raise communication, language and literacy skills through this innovative scheme.”

But Mr Buxton hit back: “If a 59 per cent take up is the best that we can achieve to help our under fives read, then the council should hang its head in shame.

“The figure of 59 per cent does not amount to success as I understand it, and it seems to me to be an abject failure.”

The Imagination Library has cost £276,919 since its high-profile launch at Magna in November 2007.

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In total, 10,724 under-fives have registered with the scheme, 9,017 children are currently receiving Imagination Library books each month and 1,874 children have graduated from the scheme.

In its first year, the scheme cost £140,716 and £136,202, to date, for the second. It has been funded through a £150,000 grant from Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and a £325,000 LABGI (Local Authority Business Growth Incentives) grant has also been ring-fenced for the scheme.

The borough council also hoped to fund the scheme through donations from community groups.

A donation for £1,000 was made by Broom Valley Infants School in February 2008, £112.50 has come from a borough council fund-raising event and £673.62 from the payroll deduction scheme.

But private donations have totalled just £94.

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The project, which sees a free book sent to youngsters aged five and under every month until their fifth birthday, has divided opinion ever since the country and western star herself rolled into town creating a media frenzy.

Some parents have hailed the initiative as “life-changing” bringing families together and giving their children more confidence to read.

But others believe that the Imagination Library is an unnecessary extra pressure on the public purse, with similar schemes already being run in schools and free books available from the town's many libraries.

Protesters also believe that any money allocated for the scheme should have been used to fund other vital council services including the laundry service and meals on wheels.

 

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