My Library Is… (Story) Walking!

At Washington District Library (WDL), we’re always looking for ways to bring library services into the community and are lucky to have a fantastic partner in the Washington Park District. Installing a Storywalk® in a nearby park was an obvious step for us. 

Getting It Done 

WDL is a smaller library without maintenance on staff.  No one on our staff had experience digging large holes, pouring concrete, or setting posts, and frankly…no one was very excited to learn.  Luckily, our good friends at Washington Park District were already experts and had all the necessary equipment.  Some extra assistance from a local Eagle Scout meant WDL staff got to skip the manual labor.  The Storywalk® layout was decided by WDL’s Outreach Librarian, the holes were dug by Park District staff, and the concrete and posts were installed by an Eagle Scout for her final project.  Total installation took three days. 

Lessons Learned 

As with many things in public libraries, we had to figure it out as we went.  Some things I would recommend to any library undertaking a Storywalk® are: 

• If you’re working with another organization, make sure they’re comfortable with the books you’re choosing.  Happily, we haven’t had any issues with book selection, but in this climate, it pays to be direct and transparent from the start.
• Find someone who can help with the installation.  Unless you have experience installing a fence or something similar, this is a big project to take on.
• Invest in waterproof backer sheets.  Even though we purchased watertight displays for the Storywalk®, we found that the ink on our printed pages ran even when laminated.  Adding waterproof backer sheets eliminated the problem. 

How It’s Going 

The Storywalk® has been very well-received.  The park is located across the street from an elementary school, and teachers take their classes to walk the trail in warmer months.  We put a QR code on the final Storywalk® display, and patrons can give feedback online.  In addition to simply being fun, the Storywalk® is also an opportunity to catch the interest of non-users and encourage them to think of the library as something more than a building with books.  I can’t say for sure how many patrons have walked through our doors because of the Storywalk®.  However, I’ve seen how excited families get when a new book is displayed, and I know the Storywalk® is becoming a shared community experience. 

We’ve gotten a ton of positive feedback, like: 

"So much fun! It was a great way to engage the kids." 

"Love this initiative!" 

"This was darling and my family loved it! Thank you for this great addition to the park and we hope to see new stories soon!" 

"It's a fun new way to enjoy a book." 

"We loved the story walk." 

This week’s blog post was written by Lexie Walsh, Director, Washington District Library. 

This project was made possible by the My Library Is... Grant.