"If they start (receiving books) when they're born, by the time they're 5 they have a library of 60 books," said Laurie Root, president of United Way of Erie County.From 2019:Imagination Library reaches 20,000th child in Erie County How it began Parton launched her Imagination Library in 1995 because the singer/songwriter wanted to foster a love of reading among children in her home county by providing them with a specially selected book mailed to them each month, according to information from United Way of Erie County.According to the website for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, one in 10 children under the age of 5 in the United States now receives Imagination Library books and the program includes several other countries."We at United Way are committed to breaking the cycle of generational poverty and we know education is the tool that is going to achieve that in our community," she said.Opinion:Imagination Library promotes reading to all children Root said the United Way has heard from kindergarten teachers who have children of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in their classrooms."