5 April 2021
Storywalk blog post. Image credit: Oregon Public Library District.

What is a Storywalk©? It is a book that has been disassembled, laminated and presented page by page to promote reading and exercise on a trail, bike path, or in store windows. The StoryWalk© Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk© is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.

You can find more information here about StoryWalk©. Let's Move in Libraries also has a great information

The Oregon Public Library District realized that the way it serves the community is continually evolving to meet ever-changing lifestyles. After reading about StoryWalks© all over the country, we began the process of providing this innovative opportunity to the Oregon community. Oregon Park West seemed the perfect location, so we partnered with the Oregon Park District, who eagerly agreed to provide the location, installation, and maintenance of the walk. The equipment from Barking Dog Exhibits (https://bdexhibits.com/) was purchased by grant funds from a local foundation. This was a great opportunity for us because we wanted a permanent fixture for the community and the grant funds provided that.

Our StoryWalk© consists of 20 stands that hold special designed inserts for community information about both the Library and the Park District as well as a complete story. We have been changing our stories monthly, even in the winter! We decided on this frequency because the park is a highly used and has a lot of traffic. Additionally, we notify the school of the new stories because the StoryWalk© is within walking distance. Not only have we partnered with the Park District on the placement, but they are also planning programs that coordinate with the stories. To date we have displayed stories for Halloween and Easter programs and are looking forward to a baseball story for baseball/softball season.

The timing of our StoryWalk© installation and unveiling was damped by COVID-19, but on the bright side it has been perfect timing since patrons have been outside more than visiting the library in person. This has allowed us to get our information out to new patrons as well, we have a QR code displayed that links directly to our website for the most update Library information and we are trying to promote the use of our hastag, #opldstorywalk.

We have really enjoyed hearing patrons on their walks tell us they will be back the next day to finish the new story we are installing. If you are ever in Oregon stop by for a story at the park!

Our guest blogger today is Hilaree Lombardo. Hilaree is the Library Director at the Oregon Public Library District. Hilaree is also a member of the My Library Is... Advisory Team.

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Comments

Great post!

Thank you so much for this inspiring post, Hilaree! The information you provided is incredibly helpful. You answered so many questions I didn't realize I had, but I'm now confident that my community could implement a similar project.