More CA Fraud? State Librarian Cannot Account for $650,000 Intended for Dolly Parton’s Children’s Literacy Program

Legendary country star Dolly Parton, known for her philanthropy, created a literacy charity in 1995, Imagination Library, to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee. Imagination Library grew and expanded and today her program spans five countries and gifts millions of free books each month to children around the world, including in California, through the California State Library, launched in June 2023.

According to the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review 1, the Dollywood Foundation received approximately $25 million on February 18, 2025 from the California State Library. In the reporting period between July 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025, the Dollywood Foundation reports 683,636 books being distributed, with 52,034 new children enrolled into the programs. During this reporting period, the Imagination Library expanded into seven new counties, with five counties/region of counties getting ready to launch in Spring/early Summer 2026.

In comparison, the Strong Reader Partnership has only provided one $5,000 grant to a Sacramento-based local partner serving Yolo County. The California State Library could not share information Subcommittee No. 1 March 12, 2026.

At the Senate Budget Sub Committee 1 Thursday afternoon, Senator Shannon Grove grilled State Librarian Greg Lucas for creating his own unauthorized non-profit to administer Dolly Parton’s well-established non-profit Imagination Library program.

The subcommittee conducted oversight regarding Senate Bill 1183 from 2022, coauthored by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) and then-Senator and Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, which was intended to promote children’s literacy through the existing nonprofit Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

The California State Library, originally tasked with distributing $68 million for the program, defied legislative intent by setting up an unnecessary, unauthorized new nonprofit on its own, rather than work with the established and widely praised Imagination Library. Later legislative actions shifted the majority of funds back to the intended Dolly Parton programs, but the State Library’s new nonprofit retained about $1.2 million.

Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) joined Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) in asking pointed questions of State Librarian Greg Lucas, who was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014. The senators wanted answers about why the State Library set up an unnecessary, unauthorized nonprofit, and what happened to nearly $650,000 of the $1.2 million that the nonprofit apparently spent. The State Library has not responded with an explanation and/or documentation to repeated requests from Senate Budget Committee staff for several months for this information.

Senator Grove noted that the State Librarian’s inability or unwillingness to provide answers at the hearing “reeks of horrific non-transparency and potential fraud.” As the State Librarian continued to make excuses, Senator Grove eventually asked point-blank, “Where’s the money?”

The subcommittee set a deadline of one week for the State Library to finally provide answers for the requested information. The State Library’s non-responsiveness thus far indicates fraud or incompetence.

Here is some of the exchange between Sen. Shannon Grove and State Librarian Greg Lucas – it will set your hair on fire:

“Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, first off, I deeply respect your questions and, applaud you for your tenacity on trying to get the reading across the state. So, I do wanna correct you on one thing. Section 19352 says, ‘The state librarian shall coordinate with a nonprofit entity qualified under a Section 5013– s-501 [3] of the Internal Revenue Code and organize solely to promote to encourage reading, for the state for implementing this program.’ It didn’t direct you to start your own nonprofit you allocated one point– a little over one point two million dollars, which the chair has already mentioned, to your own nonprofit,” Sen. Shannon Grove told the State Librarian.

Then Grove questioned Lucas on his decision to create the unauthorized non-profit.

“State Code didn’t direct you to start your own nonprofit, it directed you to work with nonprofits, and partner with them” Sen. Shannon Grove told State Librarian Greg Lucas. “But you went out and started your own nonprofit and allocated a little over $1.2 million, as the Chair has already mentioned, to your own nonprofit. And then subsequently after we started asking questions about where this money was going, and only having a $5,000 grant… there’s roughly $650,000 missing, that we have no accountability for in the nonprofit that you started.”

A missing $650,000?

“…six hundred and forty-nine thousand three hundred fifty-one dollars and thirty-six cents missing that we have no accountability for on the nonprofit that you started. And you, I don’t wanna say blatantly, but almost pu-pugnantly with just… You were like, ‘Madam Chair, I’ll get it to you.'”

“It’s, it’s– That was disrespectful, number one. And number two, you’re the librarian, the state librarian. Why don’t you have the answers that you knew you were going to have to answer from the ‘s– That was disrespectful, number one. And number two, you’re the librarian, the state librarian. Why don’t you have the answers that you knew you were gonna have to answer from the committee?”

“You don’t have receipts requested six times. You don’t have bank statements requested six times from this committee,” Sen. Grove continued.

Everyone wants to know, “Where’s the money?”

Remaining questions:

• Why did the California State Library establish its own nonprofit? What was its vision for the Strong Reader Partnership?

• What are the challenges that prevent the California State Library from producing backup documentation, including bank statements, invoices, and receipts, for the Strong Reader Partnership and its stated activities related to the Imagination Library to the Legislature?

What can the California State Library tell us with absolute certainty about how $1.2 million

was spent?

• The contract between the California State Library and the Strong Reader Partnership gives authority to the California State Library, the Department of General Services, the State Auditor, or their designated representatives to review, audit, inspect and copy any records and supporting documentation pertaining to the nonprofit’s performance. The contract also provides authority to the California State Library to require the nonprofit to forfeit unexpended funds or repay any funds improperly expended. What has the California State Library done, or will do, in order to enforce its contract with the Strong Reader Partnership?