BATON ROUGE — The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council has officially proclaimed Friday, 9/25, as "Dolly Day" in honor of the late country music star and philanthropist.

Members of Dolly Diamonds, a Baton Rouge-based volunteer nonprofit supporting Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, joined members of the Metropolitan Council and East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards for the proclamation presentation at the council's meeting on Wednesday.

"Dolly once said she hoped to be remembered more for her books than her looks," Chloe Wiley Nettles of Dolly Diamonds said. "We love the big hair and the rhinestones—but we're here to make sure East Baton Rouge remembers Dolly for the books, too."

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library mails a free, age-appropriate book every month to enrolled children from birth until their fifth birthday. Approximately 28,000 children in East Baton Rouge Parish are eligible for the Imagination Library, but only about 4,000—or 13%—are currently enrolled. 

To celebrate Dolly Day, Dolly Diamonds will host "9-2-5 Day: Celebrating Dolly's Life, Legacy & Love of Literacy" on Friday at the Main Library at Goodwood, which will feature a screening of Parton's film "9 to 5," as well as a Dolly Look-Alike Contest.