Pre-schoolers in Buchanan County will be the beneficiaries of a combined $2,000 donation by CONSOL Energy and CNX Gas to the Buchanan County Public Library for the Imagination Library program.

Through the program, which operates through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, children under the age of five who reside in Buchanan County are eligible to receive one free age-appropriate book a month until such time as they reach the age of five.

The program was started in Buchanan County by the Friends of the Library a little more than three years ago and since that time, more than 18,000 books have been received by Buchanan County children. Approximately 327 children in the program have entered kindergarten with a home library of 60 books. The cost for each child to receive the books for a year is $30 per child.

Currently, some 654 Buchanan County children are enrolled in the free program.

“We hear about how much reading is the ‘key to success,’ but for many of our children, books are a luxury,” said Buchanan County Public Library Children’s Librarian Kathy McNalley.

The Imagination Library program goal is to change that and make the books available to even more area children. The donations by CONSOL Energy and CNX Gas will allow more children to be added to the Buchanan program.

Buchanan County Children’s Librarian Kathy McNalley, accepts checks from Nathan Horne, CNX Gas project engineer; and Tim Underwood, CONSOL Energy Buchanan Mine superintendent.