The Scottish Greens have called for a £3.54 million fund to bring libraries to primary schools across Scotland, in a proposal inspired by country music star Dolly Parton.
The party wants the Scottish Government to support unstaffed lending libraries in the one in four primary schools currently without library provision.
The proposal aims to honour Parton’s contribution to childhood literacy through her Imagination Library, which was first launched in Wigtown in south Scotland.
The Scottish Greens estimate that fully funding the programme would cost £3.54 million over two years, based on analysis by the National Literacy Trust.
Each participating school would receive 500 books from a range of publishers, alongside bespoke furniture.
The party says the fund could help address declining reading levels in Scotland, with recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results showing a long-term fall in reading performance.
The call comes as Ayrshire Housing announced a partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library earlier this week, providing free books to children under five living in its communities.
Through the scheme, children will receive an age-appropriate book every month until their fifth birthday.
The Ayrshire Housing partnership, which forms part of the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library, is supported by Sidey and Radbury Double Glazing through their community benefits programme.
The initiative aims to improve early childhood literacy by giving children access to books regardless of family income, encouraging family reading and fostering a lifelong love of books.
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Laura Moodie, Scottish Greens shadow cabinet secretary for education, said: "Dolly Parton inspired a love of reading in children across the world, including Scotland.
"The Scottish Government can honour her legacy by committing to introducing libraries in all remaining primary schools with a library fund.
"With the recent PISA results showing a long-term decline in reading in Scotland, there must be urgent action to tackle that now.
"Giving primary school children access to free books is a simple and effective way to do this.
"If the Scottish Government wants to make a real difference to children’s lives and foster a love of reading in generations to come, then making sure that all primary schools have libraries is a crucial step in achieving this.
"We can’t sit by and watch reading literacy decline, I urge the Scottish Government to take action and back our call for a Dolly Parton libraries fund."
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