Library Cache

[Jedi of the Forest]

Anybody ever put a micro cache in a public library? Is this a good idea??

[Jokester]

There's a new cache called (Re)Search that is inside of a library. I couldn't see a problem with it as long as you had permission and it was well hidden. Those that have found it claim it can't be done without the clue. I'm determined to prove them wrong. Needless to say, I'm still looking.

[+YodaDoe]

I know of a cache that's in a University's library. It's simply a logbook placed inside of a sleeve pasted into the cover of a book. They library did give permission, which is essential, obviously. The description involves some figuring to find the book, of course. Pretty neat.

 

YodaDoe

[+robert]

There's one in Northern Virginia that is in a library... the clues (I think it's a multi) give you the Dewey decimal number for the cache.

[+RichardMoore]

I've found five so far. They range from a large index card in the back of a book to a videocassete case stuck between two aisles.

Make sure you get permission before placing the cache. While I was looking for the first one (I couldn't find it, I think it was found and removed by the library), a police officer started following me around the library.

The cacher who placed the last one ended up bringing two new cachers into the game, the librarians who arranged for the approval to place the cache.

 

 

RichardMoore

[+Wander Lost]

I figure permission would have to be required on a cache like that. But with it inside a building your GPS wouldn't work so you'd have to make it a puzzle/multi cache so you can fit GPS use in there somewhere.

 

In my personal opinion, however, Geocaching is supposed to be about getting me out of buildings not into them. We have a few library caches in my area and I wouldn't go out of my way to find one. If it was near by I might do it just to get it off my nearest unfound cache list.

[ghOzt]

Those that have found it claim it can't be done without the clue. I'm determined to prove them wrong. Needless to say, I'm still looking. 

Your town must have a really small library or you must be one heck of a voracious reader. It could be in any book.

[Jokester]

Your town must have a really small library or you must be one heck of a voracious reader. It could be in any book.

No this library is HUGE. Four stories, from what I had the patience to go through. The cache is 100% handicap accessible, so it rules out a couple of prime stashing places.

[+Monkey Toes]

There's a hollowed out book hidden in a library somewhere in the northeast. It's a letterbox, and not a cache. The staff knows about it and you actually have to ask them for clues.

[+flask]

i have a cache in a library. permission from the staff is KEY.

 

people seems to like it.

 

if you want particulars, you can send me an email. i won't give particulars in the forum.

[+carleenp]

There's a new cache called (Re)Search that is inside of a library. I couldn't see a problem with it as long as you had permission and it was well hidden. Those that have found it claim it can't be done without the clue. I'm determined to prove them wrong. Needless to say, I'm still looking

 

I think it can be found without the clue. I would tell you why, but that would be a clue in itself!

 

No this library is HUGE. Four stories, from what I had the patience to go through. The cache is 100% handicap accessible, so it rules out a couple of prime stashing places.

 

I thought the whole library was accessible?

[+Monkeybrad]

I have one in a library, in a hollowed out book. It is there with permission from the staff, has it's own dewey decimal number and can even be looked up on the library's website. It is in a section of the library where books can be viewed but not checked out. The library staff was very helpful in the placement of this one, they have even invited me back to do an Intro to geocaching talk as part of National Library week.

[+Cool Librarian]

That's cool that they gave it a Dewey number.

We have one in the area, but I can't say what the name is because that's part of the hunt.

I had one outside, behind the local library, but it was plundered. The large cache is now a multi that starts at the library and ends in my front yard. This has actually been great fun as I have met many of the area cachers as they go through the cache.

I am in the process of hollowing out a book for another library cache.

While I agree that geocaching gets one out of the house, I don't think it needs to be limited to wooded trails and scenic parks. I think caching can be many things to many people, and to me it's about exercise, the hunt, new places, new experiences. One of my favorite caches was actually inside a town records building, and it was a great walk through a picturesque town, a cool history lesson, and a thrilling find.

As a librarian, I try to promote reading while I cache - my caches have "finders bookmarks" and I leave READ stickers and handmade bookmarks as my signature items.

Oh, keep your eyes open for the Ms. Librarian TB!

Edited March 6, 2004 by cool_librarian

[+GeoCraig]

I have one in the Central Library of the Los Angeles Public Library. It's Ex-Ex Libris. I was the only one to find the Ex Libris cache there. It then disappeared within 5 minutes of my finding it. So I placed a micro that the same location and it has been very popular.

[+robert]

That's cool that they gave it a Dewey number.

Gold & Iron

 

[+Team BlackZ]

That's cool that they gave it a Dewey number.

Gold & Iron

 

I can't wait to go find this one. It comes highly recommended from another cacher.

[+robert]

That's cool that they gave it a Dewey number.

Gold & Iron

 

I can't wait to go find this one. It comes highly recommended from another cacher.

Yeah, I read about it in another thread about cool cache containers. Would have tried it after the NoVA event but didn't have time. Will make it on another day though.

 

Good luck with it!

[+calvinrtvp]

That's cool that they gave it a Dewey number.

Gold & Iron

 

I can't wait to go find this one. It comes highly recommended from another cacher.

Yeah, I read about it in another thread about cool cache containers. Would have tried it after the NoVA event but didn't have time. Will make it on another day though.

 

Good luck with it!

Wow...thanks. This one actually happens to be mine.

 

The neat thing about the Dewey Decimal number is that the book actually WAS a deactivated library book with the DD number still on the spine. The librarian was extremely nice about letting me place the cache and even offered the book for me to use. Since it's deactivated, it can't be searched in the library catalog (sorry to all you "shortcutters"!), but it fits perfectly among the other books of its genre. Even going down the aisles, unless you know what to look for, it blends in well enough to miss without the DD number.

 

The feedback has been so positive that I'm tempted to make another one with a similar trail and then make each of the first two caches an "Easter Egg" hunt for a third cache. You'd have to visit both caches to find the third one.

 

Okay, now for the question...if both caches STARTED in different locations (using GPS), then could they (and presumably the third) FINISH in the same location (using Dewey Decimal numbers) in the library? Since the intent of the 500 foot rule seems to me to be to prevent confusion of GPS readings, I'd say yes, but I'd be curious to hear everyone else's feedback.

 

Question #2...I've got this listed as a multicache, but should it actually be listed as a Mystery Cache?

 

Thanks for any feedback in advance.

[+Doc-Dean]

Another excellent example! 910.285

[+Bull Moose]

A local cacher did this one.

I'm one of only two finders on it so far.

[+robert]

Wow...thanks. This one actually happens to be mine.

 

The neat thing about the Dewey Decimal number is that the book actually WAS a deactivated library book with the DD number still on the spine. The librarian was extremely nice about letting me place the cache and even offered the book for me to use. Since it's deactivated, it can't be searched in the library catalog (sorry to all you "shortcutters"!), but it fits perfectly among the other books of its genre. Even going down the aisles, unless you know what to look for, it blends in well enough to miss without the DD number.

 

The feedback has been so positive that I'm tempted to make another one with a similar trail and then make each of the first two caches an "Easter Egg" hunt for a third cache. You'd have to visit both caches to find the third one.

 

Okay, now for the question...if both caches STARTED in different locations (using GPS), then could they (and presumably the third) FINISH in the same location (using Dewey Decimal numbers) in the library? Since the intent of the 500 foot rule seems to me to be to prevent confusion of GPS readings, I'd say yes, but I'd be curious to hear everyone else's feedback.

 

Question #2...I've got this listed as a multicache, but should it actually be listed as a Mystery Cache?

 

Thanks for any feedback in advance.

It sounds so cool because it's different. Nice to have a unique sort of challenge for a cache! I'd definitely consider it a multi, as long as the first and second legs of the series are actual caches, vs numbers on a plaque, etc.

 

I wonder how many people have stumbled upon the book by accident?

[Fledermaus]

A local cacher did this one.

I'm one of only two finders on it so far.

 

Hello! I'm the creater of the FAHRENHEIT-451! @ KRL-CB cache mentioned by Bull Moose. Initially, I went to the Head of Staff for the Board of Directors. I gave her a sales pitch that intrigued her. So, she "took up the guantlet" and went to the Board on my behalf.

 

Subsequently, they approved it 100%. As for the cache itself, the library building is the cache container and a real book is the log book sitting on a Reference Only shelf. All members of the staff are aware of this book, since it was mentioned in their weekly briefing of changes within the library. If you think you have the right number, they might even help you find it.

 

Some have been led astray by the coordinates they calculate for the direction to walk where the cache is. I make mention in the text that "The shortest distance between two points is not always a straight line". All they have to do is go about 30 feet and go in the front door from the flag pole, which is their last Waypoint.

 

The numbers they get for directions are sometimes quite humorous, but are for guidence only. One person said the the numbers they got took them across the street. There's nothing there!

 

In all actuality, the coordinates are, for the most part, a false trail. The real numbers that are needed are the ones to fill in the blank, i.e. DD# = R ___ .1, which is a Dewey Decimal number of the book. I guess some people don't know what the term "Dewey Decimal" means. All they have to do is get the right book number and they should be able to walk right to it.

 

However, a couple of finders have found a unique work-around. One of them started at a number he thought was appropriate and worked his way upward from there. He found it, but it took some time to do so. The second finder, namely Bull Moose, did pretty much the same thing, but worked his way downward in numbers until he found it. I will not fault them for their creativity. I did not count on that unique approach.

 

BTW, this cache is on a trial basis, and if it works out for all concerned, as it has so far by comments from various staff members, I may be given permission to expand this idea to the other local branches. Until then and during such time, no other caches are allowed in or on library grounds. You might want to read the "Fine Print" statement at the bottom of my cache page, which expresses the concerns of the library's Head of Staff and the Board.

 

For those who attempt to find it and fail, hopefully you will have learned something from the experience.

 

Any and all comments for my next library cache will be greatfully appreciated.

 

FLEDERMAUS

(Flying Mouse / Bat)