By MADDY VITALE
What began as a fun way for Ocean City families to share an activity together outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic has grown into a popular attraction for children and their parents or guardians.
It’s the Ocean City Free Public Library’s StoryWalk, located in Lake Memorial Park at 407 Wesley Ave.
“The StoryWalk, for those that do not know, is a movement and literacy-boosting project that places an illustrated children’s book, taken apart and displayed page by page, along a walking route in your community,” Library Director Karen Mahar explained Tuesday.
When Taimi Kelley, the Children’s Services librarian, brought the idea for StoryWalk to Mahar in 2020, Mahar thought, “It was a fantastic fit for our Ocean City community.”
To keep families engaged and coming back for more walks in the park, the StoryWalk program runs year-round and features a new book every few months. The latest book to grace the park is, “Share Some Kindness, Bring Some Light” by Apryl Stott.
Jennifer Shirk, president of the Library Board of Trustees, remarked about the family-friendly activity.
“The StoryWalk is going strong and we’re thrilled with all the upcoming plans Taimi has for it this year,” Shirk said.
Since the dedication of the StoryWalk in October of 2020, Mahar said, “It has been extremely popular.”
“It’s functioning just as we envisioned. You see parents or grandparents or older siblings walking along with little ones holding their hand or sometimes holding them up to read. The community loves it,” Mahar pointed out.
She noted that thanks to the partnership with the city, the park was chosen as the ideal place to set up StoryWalk.
“Taimi and I discussed the location and the benefits of having it there and then we sought the approval of the city to make our StoryWalk a reality,” Mahar said.
Kelley’s main goal with StoryWalk was to get families outside and be active while engaging with literacy,” Mahar said.
Not only is that happening, but it is exactly what the program was created to do.
The StoryWalk Project was created by Anne Ferguson in Montpelier, Vt., and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.
Not only did the city approve the location of StoryWalk at Lake Memorial Park, but the officials have been very supportive of the program.
Volunteers have also helped to keep StoryWalk maintained and successful.
“The first year, Taimi and her staff came up with a temporary solution to hold the story book pages in place,” Mahar recalled. “Once we realized that our StoryWalk was very well received by our community and those that visited our community, we knew that we needed to purchase more permanent structures to hold the story book pages.”
That was where the Friends and Volunteers of the library came in. In 2022, the volunteers donated more than $6,000 to reimburse the library for purchasing 20 aluminum structures that hold the picture books in place.
Mahar said dedicated staff, especially Kelley, should be credited for the foresight to see that StoryWalk would be an inviting and engaging activity for families to read together.
And there is much more planned in the future for the StoryWalk.
“Keep an eye out at the library and on our website for some other cool projects Taimi and our programming team are planning for the StoryWalk,” Mahar added.
For more information about the Ocean City Free Public Library and all of its programming, visit Ocean City Free Public Library (oceancitylibrary.org)
