[Publib] Letterboxing in the Library - THANKS!

[Marija Sanderling]

Thank you to everyone who told me about their letterboxing experiences 
in the library.  Here is a roundup
of messages I received for those who are interested in doing this:

Yes, we have one hidden in our Reference section in a false book that is 
hollowed out and contains the cache. 
We put it in reference so that it was close to the desk and browsers 
wouldn't be as likely to find it. 
We had local geocachers do the clues, search and everything.  They also
presented a program on geocaching that was well attended.


At the request of a local teacher we set up a notebook/journal.  We
filed it in the 600s where goeching would be located - then we bought
a couple books on the subject. This one has no tokins to take, just
the challenge of finding it.  The first morning after he posted it on
the web, a mother/son combination were waiting for us to open.  It
should be somewhere that pepole find it by themselves.  You could then
say Finder may get a free __________ at the ref desk.  

I created a letterbox for our library 2 summers ago and we've had
someone coming in to find it at least every month.  The box itself is a
hollowed out copy of James Michener's _Texas_ because it was a
discarded copy and thick enough to hold all the supplies.  I also left a
few of the pages loose inside the book (meaning I didn't glue all of the
pages together) and on those pages put pictures and information about our
library's history.  I have a set of adult clues and a set of childrens
clues, both leading to the same box.  I glued pockets into different books
around the library with clues in them leading to the next book.  Duplicate
clues are kept at the reference desk in case any of the books are checked
out or there aren't any more clues to be found in them.  For the juvenile
clues, I have pieces of a map with each clue, that when put together is a
floorplan of the library with a trail leading to the box.  We've had
suprising success with the box so I wish you the best.

One of our staff set up a letterbox in our library.  We have a display
case on the wall near the front where they start and then clues 
throughout the library. 
The "box" is an old hollowed out book and it is placed in the shelves of 
the adult biographies. 
It is not actually shelved with the books, it is on the floor, behind 
the shelves (they are against a wall). 
We have had quite a few staff people bring it up thinking it was 
misfiled until we show them what it is. 
We have had people from all over the country come to the library to do 
the letterbox.
We have all the clues and answers at the reference desk because some of 
the clues are in
books and if they get misplaced or checked out, we can still help the 
people doing the search.


--Marija Sanderling
  Lane Memorial Library
  Hampton, NH  03842