Why Storytelling?

Last week at work I was talking with a co-worker about the courses we're taking this term (he's also a MLIS student, at another school), and when I told him "Storytelling" was one of my courses, he said that he was surprised since he thought I wasn't interested in pursuing children's librarianship. I responded by saying that in my opinion storytelling was a great art form for adults to experience as well, but he seemed baffled by the idea. I thought later about my (tentative) career plan, that of going into Library Outreach Services, and how storytelling could play a role. I've always been attracted to the idea of working with adults who need the library to come to them, rather than the other way around, whether it's due to language barriers, illiteracy, incarceration, lack of knowledge of what the library can offer, fear/embarassment, etc. As I looked through Tim Sheppard's site (http://www.timsheppard.co.uk/story/) I was inspired by his thought that humans "have a profound need to hear and tell stories. It is how we share experiences, understand each other, and create community." I think that not only does the above apply, but also storytelling can be a powerful way to heighten an interest in reading and improve a person's language skills, and confidence with both. Adults with limited literacy skills might just find storytelling to be the key to unlocking their fears associated with learning.