Community StoryWalk

Submitted by ababluck on Tue, 2016-02-16 13:04

Description:

A StoryWalk involves purchasing a children's book, taking the pages apart and laminating them and posting the pages along a pre-set walking path (in this case, in business windows around town.) Participants are then given a map to follow along with the story. The Story was left up for two months so that participants could do it on their own time. The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Their FAQs are attached.

Frequency:

Annually

Audience

Primary Audience:

Multi-generational

Resources

Resources required (materials/supplies; food/refreshments, etc.):

1) At least 3 copies of the book. Two for the original posting (since there are double-sided pages) and one or more for replacement pages. 2) Laminating sheets, identifying and numbering stickers, etc. for the pages. 3) Comment book to be kept at the end of the StoryWalk (either in the library or outside in a weather and theft-resistant case.)

Community partners :

Leisure Services, various local businesses and organizations

Funding (grants/foundations/corporations):

Northern Health Imagine Grant

Budget for this program:

$400

Evaluation

What were the goals/objectives of your program?:

1) Encourage families to: a) Engage in healthy outdoor exercise b) Spend quality time together c) Discover all that their community has to offer 2) Foster a love of reading for all ages 3) Raise awareness of the library

Feedback from Participants:

“The StoryWalk was pretty interesting. I can relate to how Marcel felt when he started flying and thought he couldn’t do it, because when I started walking this route, I thought I couldn’t do it either, but I did… and so did Marcel!” – Owen, youth [Marcel is the main character in the story we used.] “I really enjoyed the StoryWalk and the story of the swans. Thanks – very well done.” – Carol, senior “We really enjoyed the StoryWalk. Let’s do another one real soon.” – Jacob, Caleb, & Elsie, family with small children “I wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed the Story Walk. I think it would be great if you could do a few different stories throughout the summer (its hard to do in the winter I realize). Great exercise too!!!” – Meg, adult

Highlights - what worked well?:

Partnering with local businesses to display the pages in their windows. We also placed some at prominent local landmarks. Including basic information about the StoryWalk with each page (i.e. the start point, maps are available etc.) Leaving extra maps at the start point as well as in the library. The book we chose (Whistling Wings by Laura Goering) came out to 14 pages - a good amount for our 3.5km route.

What would you change about this program?:

We originally posted the Story outside around a walking path, but it was vandalized repeatedly. We took it down and rethought it with businesses included. The comment book was kept in the Library (at the last stop) and received few comments. Next year, we'll attempt to find a place that's more obvious and more accessible at all times. Make sure all signs are accessible all days of the week, even when the hosting business is closed (i.e. on on outside-facing window.) Check the pages regularly and have replacements on hand.

Program photos:

Copies of program publicity (newspaper articles, letters of appreciation, participant feedback, etc.):

IMG_0754.JPG

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