Starting in September, there’s a new location on the road map as the librarians and St. Charles Park District launch Barnyard Books, a new story time launching Sept. 18 at Primrose Farm in the Education Center.

For the library staff, the opportunity to bring story time to the community provides connections among people, places and, of course, nature, explains Kelly Stulgate, youth services department manager for the St. Charles Public Library.

“These are really wonderful opportunities to provide reading and literacy out in the community,” Stulgate said. “It allows us to have a broad and diverse audience.”

For more than a decade, the librarians have visited the Creek Bend Nature Center in the LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve in St. Charles for a monthly story time The library partnered with the St. Charles Park District to launch Twinleaf Tales at Hickory Knolls Discovery Center in St. Charles in the fall of 2021.

“These story times get people out into nature,” Stulgate said. “When they’re done, they can go explore the nature center, the forest preserve, the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center animals and the entire outdoor center. And now, with Primrose, they can explore the barnyard and the beautiful walking paths. It connects them back to nature.”

Each month, Youth Service Librarians Mackenzie Kavanaugh and Amelia Thomas meet to discuss themes, games and activities for their story times. The librarians bring a variety of books, including fiction as well as non-fiction, which Stulgate said is very popular with young children who are full of questions.

“A lot of kids love non-fiction books. Kids love facts,” Stulgate said.

The story times feature activities to get participants moving, such as songs that include a scarf or shaker and some games and play. For the location-based story times, the librarians utilize themes of nature, animals and seasons, often connecting with their host site.

“It’s a great partnership with the library,” said Emily Shanahan, manager of nature programs for Hickory Knolls Discovery Center. “And the nice part is you can stay and go play on the outdoor play area or visit the animals inside and spend the whole morning here.”

Each year, the library staff hits the road, visiting schools, preschools and early childhood centers, but the story times at the park district and forest preserve sites have a different feeling.

“It helps us get to a different audience. Sometimes community members aren’t able to use the library or it introduces them to us,” Stulgate said.

Story times aren’t just for the littles – it often provides an important social outlet for the adults, too.

“It’s really good because we are connecting community members to each other,” Kavanaugh added.

The library and park district partnership goes beyond story times, with the library hosting Movies in the Park at Pottawatomie Park during the summer, and some of the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center animal ambassadors visit the library for special programs, too. Stulgate said the turtle races earlier this summer had the meeting room at capacity, and the bearded dragon’s visit was wildly popular.