NEW SALEM — The trustees of New Salem Academy have become a local partner of a program that singer-songwriter Dolly Parton started in 1995 to provide children with books regardless of their family’s income.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails free, high-quality and age-appropriate books to children up to 5 years old. New Salem Academy’s trustees will fund the program for families in New Salem, Orange and Wendell. It is estimated that nearly 500 children in these towns will be eligible to receive monthly books.

“We’re very excited about the program. We think it’s a phenomenal educational opportunity for the area,” said trustee Nate Hurwitz. “We’re thrilled for the opportunity to introduce this program. We think it’s a fantastic way to better serve the community.”

New Salem Academy, a small private high school that once educated students from seven neighboring towns, closed in 1969. However, the academy buildings are still in use today, and its trustees oversee the management and dispersal of investment funds to provide educational scholarships to descendants of New Salem Academy students and staff, and to support educational or cultural programs. The trustees also maintain a museum.

According to its website, the Imagination Library partners with local affiliates who help bring the program to municipalities around the world. The program is active in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and Australia. Local affiliates can be businesses, individuals, school districts, or small or large organizations.

While the Imagination Library negotiates wholesale pricing for the books, these affiliates are responsible for securing the money to cover that cost and shipping fees.

“The Dollywood Foundation is thrilled to partner with New Salem Academy to offer free books to children birth to age 5 in New Salem, Wendell, and Orange,” regional director Lauren Wirt said in an email. “There is nothing more basic, more essential, more foundational to a child’s success in life than the ability to read.”

Hurwitz explained he learned about the Imagination Library because he has family members in states that have the program.

“They ship over 3 million books every month to children all over the world, particularly in the United States,” he said. “And we were looking to expand our educational reach.”

The Imagination Library operates in nine other Massachusetts towns — Beverly, Cape Ann, Edgartown, Peabody, Salem, South Hadley, Springfield, Wareham and Webster.

Eligible residents can sign up for the New Salem Academy program at tinyurl.com/yc3e4b4s.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.