IMLS Stories: Encouraging Active Outdoor Play and Recreation

On March 14, 2025, Executive Order 14238, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” called for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). 

RAILS is spotlighting libraries and institutions in Illinois that have received IMLS grant money and sharing how they used those funds. These posts are features in our IMLS Stories Series.  

Our goal is to raise awareness of the impact of IMLS funding and to encourages heightened advocacy moving forward.  

For the latest updates regarding IMLS, please refer to RAILS’ IMLS Pulse Page.  

Our featured library for this week is Wood Dale Public Library, who received an IMLS grant in FY 2022 for the development of their library's outdoor space. Wood Dale PL planned to install a StoryWalk® and Nature Trail outdoors, to “address the negative health and fitness effects that children and families experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, when children had limited access to active play and organized activities.” (IMLS Grant Description) They planned to update the StoryWalk® approximately every 90 days.

They received $19,815 through this grant, which was part of the American Rescue Plan for Museums and Libraries Program, created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which President Biden signed into law in 2021. ARPA allocated over $200 million to the IMLS in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.    

I spoke with Najera Miljevic, Public Services Assistant Manager at Wood Dale Public Library, about the effects of this grant on their library.  

GG: Could you tell me about your project and your role within it? 

NM: Our IMLS project funded the installation of a StoryWalk® and Nature Walk behind our Library. I co-authored our grant application and worked with the administration to design the outdoor space, coordinated installation of the posts and signs, and oversaw the grant budget and expenditures related to the project.   

GG: Is this project funded by additional resources outside of IMLS?    

NM: Additional funding for landscaping, outdoor seating, a play area and a limestone path was provided by a federal grant that supports Early Learning at the Library.   

GG: Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between this particular grant and the quality of your library service? How so?   

NM: This grant allowed us to extend the library beyond our four walls and turn our outdoor area into a welcoming space for learning and play. Now, we are a destination for families who enjoy spending time outdoors and interacting with the natural world behind the library! 

GG: Imagine a world where you had not received this money from the IMLS, how would your project be different? Would you be able to complete this project?   

NM: If we had not received funding from IMLS, we would not have installed the StoryWalk® and Nature Walk. The project was expensive and required a lot of staff time, energy and resources that we would not have been able to expend without this additional funding support.   

GG: How is the maintenance of this project being managed? Are you still updating the Story Walk every 90 days?   

NM: Our project is managed by a whole team of dedicated people! Youth services librarians choose the stories, prepare the signs and change them out. Administration budgets for landscaping around the property and ensures that the area stays beautiful and clean. Volunteers help us keep the area safe by picking up branches and wiping down signs. As the resident gardener, I check in on the native plants and do the necessary pruning and cleaning as needed. We update the story seasonally, which falls somewhere around every 90 days (spring, summer, fall, winter). 

GG: How has the usage of your space changed in the warmer months? Are you seeing more usage of outdoor space than previously?   

NM: We are seeing increased usage of our outdoor space in warmer months. While we expected to see more families with young children, we are excited to see more teens using the space to play badminton and volleyball, or just to hang out and read a book in the shade. 

GG: If you could extend the funding for this project, how might you continue its development?   

NM: If we could extend the funding for this project, we could continue developing our outdoor space with new landscaping, and potentially install new attractions like a garden, expanded play area or some other outdoor attraction that our community would like to see. The possibilities are endless!   

As we continue this series, we hope to explore more of the ways that IMLS funding has benefitted library communities throughout Illinois. If your library has received IMLS funding and you would like to be featured in this series, please send inquiries to RAILS Communications Intern, Gwen Gemmell.  

Special thanks to Najera Miljevic for their time and assistance.