A Walking Library : Part 1
For Green Libraries Week, Kirsty takes us on a walk....with a book!
As an idea for a walk, I’ve been brooding this one for a while. Back in 2021 I listened to Dr Dee Heddon being interviewed on the Scotland Outdoors podcast on Radio Scotland, she is a professor of theatre studies specialising in walking art. Her ideas of art outdoors, and reading in the environment took root in my mind. You can listen to the podcast here, she talks about The Walking Library at 12 minutes in:
Reading outdoors is not a new idea, ‘The Walking Library’ as a creative project was set up by Dee has been established and evolving for over a decade, but the practice is much older than this. There is a long history of people packing a book for companionship on long journeys. John Muir, naturalist, author and ‘father of the national parks’ always carried a book on his walks. Authors such as Coleridge and Keats were in on the trend before that. So like all good ideas (and library books), I was prepared to borrow this one and give it a burl.
“I really enjoyed the books mixed in with our surroundings, I really felt it made you consider the landscape and our place in it in a different way.”
Now, as a ranger I was no stranger to throwing a book into a rucksack, but it would be exclusively within the reference genre; an ID guide for flowers usually. In all honesty, it had never occurred to me to bring a fictional novel on a walk. I’d sit happily in the garden with one, and wouldn’t dream of a train journey without one, but read one whilst out on a walk? Why would you do that?
This would be a good opportunity to find out.
The basic format of a walking library is that a collection of books are curated with a route or theme in mind, the walking librarian carries them along in a rucksack. Before they set off walkers are invited to pick one to carry along with them. They can then stop along the way for a reading break themselves or share bits of text if they like. I decided to update this idea by picking wee excerpts from each of the texts in advance so that we could listen to them at story stops along the way.
“It was a really valuable event for me, thanks again!”
My original plan was to focus my first library walk on trees, but when I met Donna from Waterlines visitor centre at Lybster harbour my plans took off on a sea themed trajectory. Donna is both a keen reader and writer and although we met to discuss planning an unrelated event, the library idea came up and she was so enthused I decided to change topic and relocate to the harbour. She suggested we could extend the walk by adding an afterhours museum tour, access their archive library and also chat about the books over tea and cake in the café. This sounded like a dream event to me, and so the Lybster Harbour and Shore edition of a walking library sprang into being.
Lybster has a particularly bonnie and history rich harbour so it was very easy to plan the route, we also included a detour to just north of the village to include the secluded and atmospheric geo of Shelligoe. Ideas, reflections and connections can be found outdoors in such places, would reading outdoors bring a deeper connection with the books? It turns out it most definitely did. Here are some quotes from our walkers:
“It was so nice to hear about Lybster history and discover some fascinating stories about the area but also know more about the harbour/Shelligoe and your famous sea bean!!”
In an effort to make this walk more accessible I ran a stationary version as a display in Wick library, so borrowers could see the books we’d selected and read them in the comfort of their own homes. The staff were really enthusiastic to host this temporary display, and commented on how it been received.
“The borrowers really enjoyed the display, it got a lot of interest. Where is it going to next?”
This was the hands down favourite of all the guided walks I have lead and what’s more the customers that came along with me that day agreed - (its their quotes I’m giving here - by the way)
The location, the cake and above all the fascinating conversation between the walkers was refreshing and food for the brain and soul. I would highly recommend taking a book on a stroll with you.
Tomorrow, in Part 2, I will reveal some books you could borrow from your local library and take for a walk this weekend.
“I could only hope for more events like this in the future 🤞🏻 This is a winning concept!”
Kirsty Rosie is the High Life Highland Countryside Ranger for East Caithness and North East Sutherland, a region celebrated for its natural splendor and diverse wildlife. Raised in Keiss, her early experiences inspired her lifelong passion for the conservation in this area. Today, as a ranger, she is a well of knowledge and enjoys teaching visitors and communities alike about the treasures to be found on Caithness’s dramatic cliffs, and within it’ historic landscapes.