A number of months ago, a friend told me about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The vision of the Imagination Library is "to foster a love of reading among [the] county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month."

The books are free of charge, and anyone with preschool children can sign up, regardless of family income. Our two-year old son loves getting the books in the mail.  

While the Imagination Library has already served over 800,000 children, I wonder if their choice architecture is limiting their reach. Also, I wonder if their choice architecture is preventing use of the program by families who need the books the most. Currently, families can sign up online to receive the books. It is a simple process, but you need to have heard about the program, need to have internet access, and need to be able to fill out the sign-up questions.

A nudge, such as an opt-out form (through the mail, or, if allowed, at the hospital) might allow the Imagination Library to reach a greater number of children. (If Gerber Life Insurance knows when we have a baby, I am sure the Imagination Library could find out). I doubt many families would opt out of the Imagination Library's program. Who would turn down free books? Perhaps, however, the program is purposely set up with a few hurdles because of limited resources. 

The partners of Imagination Library include Penguin Group USA. I imagine that Penguin probably sees this partnership as part marketing and part corporate social responsibility. In any event, we have really enjoyed the program.