Moo! Storywalk
Written surveys were distributed to families during the library’s storytime events in April and June.
These surveys would gauge families’ interest and excitement in the program. It was expected that a majority of respondents would:
• be excited to attend a Puppet Wagon show and participate in the story walk.
• express interest in signing their children up for the summer reading program.
• be encouraged to read to their children.
In addition, anecdotal responses were gathered from families during the scheduled Puppet Wagon appearances
at city parks in June and July.
Instead of distributing written surveys during storytime, the children’s librarian gathered verbal feedback from parents and daycare providers. During the April ECFE Bedtime Storytime, parents were excited to receive the Puppet Wagon schedule in advance. Families new to the summer reading program were pleased to hear the
summer reading program included reading opportunities for very young children as well as reading and program opportunities for families.
In June, the children’s librarian offered a special farm-themed storytime during the first week of summer
reading. The highlight of the storytime was the group read-aloud of “Moo!” by David LaRochelle. Since
many daycares had plans to attend the weekly Puppet Wagon shows, the Moo! Story walk was said to be a
positive addition to the shows.
In e-mail correspondence, Assistant Park and Recreation Director Joseph Schugel wrote: “The Puppet Wagon put on 39 shows this summer at various parks that saw 1,273 attendees to these shows. This came out to an average of about 32.5 attendees per show. Many of those attendees, especially first time attendees went through the Moo Story walk as part of their Puppet Wagon experience. Myself and staff thought this was a very good addition to the Puppet Wagon experience and to the community.”
From this librarian’s perspective, the Moo! Story walk was a success. David LaRochelle’s book “Moo!”
made for a wonderful book selection. During school visits and library tours, school-age children happily
exclaimed “We know this book!” These same children also expressed interest in sharing this story with their younger siblings at the outdoor story walk. By collaborating with New Ulm Park and Recreation, library staff
was able to reach a significant number of daycares and families.
o New Ulm Park and Recreation - staff, venues, and publicity
o Friends of the New Ulm Public Library - storytime materials
o Area schools and ECFE - publicity
o Local businesses and media outlets - publicity
New Ulm Library