ACRL Washington Newsletter
Spring 2006, No. 58
Geocaching in the Libraries: House of Stories
What is geocaching (pronounced "geocashing"), you ask? Simply put, geocaching is a treasure hunt using a GPS unit. It has become a worldwide activity and for some, an addiction. Participants hide caches of little treasures or tokens, then provide simple or elaborate clues and a set of GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) to lead searchers to the reward. The cache is generally comprised of a box containing a logbook for searchers to leave their comments and some kind of small reward left by the cache owner for those that find it. Searchers may also leave a new token after taking one, which makes for some interesting finds for later searchers. Caches can be inside or outside, simple or easy to find, tiny or huge. According to the Geocaching website (www.geocaching.com), "as of March 22, 2006, there are 246,758 active caches in 221 countries."
There are 6,266 caches listed for the UW's 98195 zip code, alone. Matthew Parsons, a librarian in the Map Collection introduced two of the Natural Sciences Librarians (Maureen Nolan and Stephanie Wright) to geocaching and many a lunch hour was soon spent hunting for caches on campus. Then, after reading an article about Linda Musser, Head of the Fletcher L. Byrom Library who placed a geocache inside Penn State's Earth and Mineral Sciences Library, the three UW librarians decided to hide a cache in one of the UW Libraries. Although the cache begins conventionally with GPS coordinates, this cache has additional clues which leads searchers on a tour through the library and offers an opportunity to use research databases and the UW Libraries catalog.
This geocache, named "House of Stories," went "live" on the Geocaching.com website on February 17, 2006 and has been found at least 20 times. Comments from the cache's log include:
"Thanks for a very original puzzle. We had a great time."
"This was one of my favorite caches in some time. Fun research that brought
back many memories (all good ones of course). Thanks for the great cache!"
"This
was MUCH more fun than I thought it would be. Thanks for the treat!"
"This is
a great cache in my opinion."
"Well thought out, but boy was the cache a humdinger
to find."
"Wow! This was a phenomenal cache from start to finish. Thank you
so much for a cleverly complicated cache that is now one of my favorite Seattle
hides."
"What a truly lovely cache! Each WP [way point] a delight and the final
a wonderful surprise!"
"I've spent many, many happy hours in places much like
the final's hiding spot. Thanks much for the hide."
You can read all the logs
(caution, includes spoilers) on the Geocaching.com website. If you are inclined
to find the cache yourself, you can do so by following the clues found below.
(If you don't have a GPS, you can use this alternate web page which tells you the location of the starting point: http://www.lib.washington.edu/maps/geocache.html.
N 47° 39.353 W 122° 18.529 UTM: 10T E 551900 N 5278285
This cache is located inside a building. The cache is accessible to the public 56hrs/wk during the academic term. When school is not in session (i.e. Spring Break) the hours are reduced. The cache is not accessible on Sundays.
Solve the clues to complete the puzzle and find the cache!
Puzzle: A B C D E . F G : H I J [space] K L M N [space] . O P
Clue 1: Walk up the stairs into the building. Directly inside the entrance, find the squirrels that will show you the way. A = Last letter in the 1st word. B & E = # of letters in last word. C = Last # in the Room # where the squirrels play. D = "B" X 2
Clue 2: Climb the Grand Staircase. F = 1st letter in the surname of the donor of the "large" gift on display at the top of the stairs. G = Last # in date on donation plaque minus 1.
Clue 3: Take the elevator (or the stairs by the elevators) down one floor. H = Floor # you're now on.
Clue 4: Exit the elevator and go to the right. Stop at the public PC. Using the Research Database: Library Literature & Information Science, search for a book review written by Matthew Parsons in 2005. Click on the record listed. I = 2nd letter in the 2nd word of the Journal Name. J = # of letters in the 2nd word of the title of the book reviewed. K, L, M, N = The first 4 numbers of the Accession Number of the record.
Clue 5: Return to the elevators and take the stairs down two floors. Turn right to find the flying ravens and the copper clock. O = First letter of month the clock was restored. P = Fourth # in the year the clock was restored.
Clue 6: Do an about face and find a PC (white ones are for use by the general public). Open a web browser and search the UW Libraries Catalog by "Call Number" (drop-down box) using the number you've just completed in the puzzle format above. Go to the location listed in the record, find the item listed in the catalog record, and follow the instructions from there.
FTF - First to Find. Used to describe a user or geocaching experience where one is the first to find a cache once it goes "live".
Geomuggle - Sometimes just called "muggle" based on term from the Harry Potter series. A geomuggle is a non-geocacher. Geocachers try to be discreet and not draw geomuggle attention to caches while they are hunting, which is not always easy to do, depending on the location.
Hitchhiker - An item that is placed in a cache with instructions for travel to other caches, such as Travel Bugs and Geocoins. These items are trackable through the geocaching website via identification numbers.
Spoiler - A spoiler is information that can give details away and ruin the experience of something. For example, telling someone the end of a movie before they see it. In geocaching, a spoiler gives away details of a cache location and can ruin the experience of the hunt.
TFTC / TFTH - Thanks for the cache / Thanks for the hunt (or hide). Usually found in logbooks or website logs. A courteous response from geocachers to those who took the time to hide a cache.
TN / LN / SL - Took nothing / Left nothing / Signed the logbook. Also found in logbooks or website logs to indicate geocachers actions upon finding a cache. Various combinations of the abbreviations are frequently used together. For example if a geocacher did not take or leave an item in a cache but signed the logbook, he or she may write TNLNSL.
Travel Bug - A Travel Bug (or hitchhiker) is a trackable tag that you can track on Geocaching.com. The "hitchhiker" is then carried from cache to cache (or person to person) and you can follow its progress online.
University of Washington