Immediately following the outdoor story time at the Lititz Public Library on Nov. 4, Amy Moyer and Shannon Richard, Lititz Public Library youth services team members, headed for an area close to East Sixth Street where a red ribbon awaited them. After both lined up behind the ribbon with the children who had attended story time, Moyer cut the ribbon to open the library's new permanent StoryWalk.

The Lititz Public Library StoryWalk consists of 18 story boards placed in a ring around the library perimeter, with the first and last boards located just outside the main library doors. StoryWalks combine walking and reading in a self-directed activity that offers fun for people of all ages. A book is divided into pages, which are presented on story boards placed a short distance from each other. The StoryWalk allows participants to read a child's picture book as they walk. At each stop, participants are given a simple activity to complete. The interactive StoryWalks are designed to bring parents and grandparents together with children in an activity that promotes both literacy and physical activity. The final story board offers information about the author of the book and includes a QR code that can be used to provide the library with feedback about the family's experience.

According to library director Ryan McCrory the idea was not new to library staff, but during the shutdown, the relevancy of a StoryWalk became obvious. "During COVID, we thought this was a great way to continue to engage our reading families while allowing for safe interaction," recalled McCrory. "Combining outdoor exercise, short stories, and follow-along activities was a perfect complement to our beautiful grounds."

The first known StoryWalk Project was created by Anne Ferguson and developed with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vt. The idea for putting in a StoryWalk at the Lititz Public Library had been bounced around among library staff for a few years. Renee Christiansen, youth service manager at the Library System of Lancaster County, worked with Karen Payonk and Richard, to gather resources about the program.

McCrory reported that each new story board set up for the StoryWalk will be created at the Lititz Public Library by Richard and Moyer. The first StoryWalk book for the Lititz installation was "Ivan the Terrier" by Peter Catalanotto, which premiered on the walk in July. Currently, "Santa's Story" by Will Hillenbrand is featured. The stories will generally change every three months, but McCrory noted that this schedule may be adjusted based on library needs.

Books for the Lititz StoryWalk are purchased using programming budget funds, but the posts for the story boards were funded with help from the Anne Brossman Sweigart Foundation and the Kiwanis Club of Lititz. Warwick Township Public Works donated time and effort to install the posts.

More information about the library may be found at https://lititzlibrary.org.