Haleigh's Practicum Diary

Date: 5/27/26 and 5/28/26

Time Worked: 9am-2pm on the 27th and 9:30am-2pm on the 28th (approx. 9.5 hours)

Name: Haleigh Hare

Supervisor’s name: Marisa Bateman/ Julie Kulikowski (Marisa is supervising my entire experience within the D.C. Public Library System, while Julie is supervising me in this specific, West End Library, branch)

I spent most of Wednesday morning laminating and trimming two-page spreads for the StoryWalk. The StoryWalk is a concept created by Anne Ferguson, a librarian from Vermont, and involves displaying an entire book page by page so that visitors can walk along and read the story. Since June is National Zoo Month, Julie chose to feature Solitary Animals: Introverts of the Wild by Joshua David Stein, a beautifully illustrated book that showcases a variety of animals.

Creating the display required multiple copies of the book. We carefully cut apart the pages, mounted the spreads together, and assembled them throughout the library. The process took two days to complete; I finished the project around midday on Thursday, working on it in stages. I think the final product is an inviting and engaging display. We had to consider factors such as the height at which to display the pages and where in the library they would have the greatest visual impact. Having a project that I was able to see through from beginning to end was especially rewarding.

Later on Wednesday, we hosted a class visit from Stevens Early Learning Center, which is located just up the block from the library. We coordinated with the Center for Accessibility Office at DC Public Library and were excited to offer an accessible story time for a special needs class. There were 10 students in attendance, accompanied by 8 teachers and paraprofessionals. It was an extremely educational experience for me and provided an opportunity to work with an important segment of our community.

On Thursday, we hosted a Baby Sign Time program led by a volunteer, Ms. Roxy, an amazing ASL educator. She sang and signed with the group for 30 minutes, creating a fun and interactive experience for everyone involved. The babies and caregivers were highly engaged, and we had a turnout of approximately 15 participants.

Pictured above is the StoryWalk devised by Julie and created for the book Solitary Animals. Each spread is backed by a colorful piece of cardstock. It was neat to watch adults and children alike read and look at the pages as they walked by.