By providing free, high-quality books directly to the home, the Imagination Library program seeks to increase childhood literacy rates, foster a love of books, and promote a culture of reading among families in Arkansas.

In 2023, 42% of children ages 0 to 5, or nearly 78,000 children, were enrolled in Imagination Libraries statewide, representing a significant increase from 2018 when only 10% of children were enrolled.

Rates are uneven across racial and ethnic groups, with 4.7% of working-age Blacks enrolled in further education compared to 3.0% of whites and 2.2% of Hispanics. While the Black rate was the highest in 2019, it has also fallen the most since 2011 (decreasing nearly 4 percentage points).

Nearly half (45%) of Arkansas' 75 counties had more than half of its child population enrolled. Pike County had the highest enrollment rate at 98% followed by Montgomery and Marion counties at 85% and 82% respectively. Miller County had the smallest percentage of children enrolled at 13% followed by Hempstead at 19%.

Data reflects enrollment as of August 1, 2023.