The initial coordinates are for the entrance to the Pleasant Hill Library. Some of the stages for this multi are inside the library. The geocache itself is outside the library.
Each of the 26 community libraries that comprise the Contra Costa County Library has its own hours, so you will need to consult ccclib.org for the operating hours for this branch.
The Pleasant Hill Library occupies a somewhat unique position within the Contra Costa County Library system. From 1961 until 2009 it was the Central Library. As the Central Library, it became the principal repository for several reference collections. When it became a branch library in 2009, many of these collections remained.
The purpose of this multi will be to acquaint you with some of the reference collections maintained in this library. The various reference collections are kept in several areas in the library, and some are in locked rooms or cabinets. Reference works typically do not circulate, but may be viewed in the library.
****
General reference works are shelved in the upstairs area to the north of the main room. There is an out-of-service elevator, and stairs behind the elevator shaft in the area labeled “non fiction.”
Go upstairs to the general reference area, and find the volume with the
Call Number R 920.72089 Sonneborn
(The Call Number is used, basically, to group volumes by subject matter. Contra Costa County Libraries use the Dewey Decimal System for Call Numbers. Books are shelved in ascending order by Call Number. Call Numbers for reference works have an R in the prefix to the number.)
Near the top of the outside of the back cover of this volume is another number with a bar code. This is the Item Number. It is an inventory control number, and is unique to every item in the CCC Library system. It is the number that is scanned when an item is checked out.
B is the 1st digit in the Item Number for this volume. Please be sure to replace the volume between R920.72089 Black and R922 Saints.
****
More about the Dewey Decimal System: Go back downstairs and re-enter the main room. As you enter the main room, turn around and look at the signage at the end of each row of shelves in the “non fiction” section.
At the end of each shelving row, small pictorial placards indicate the Dewey Decimal Number series for various subjects. For example, 770 for Photography or 590 for Animals. Find the placard for Law.
C is the first digit of the Dewey Decimal System number series for Law.
****
Permanent Artwork: Usually, there is lots of art hanging around inside this library, but most of it is temporary. There is, however one piece of permanent art. It's on the main floor, it's large, and it takes up most of a wall. Find this whimsical piece of art.
D is the number of beasties depicted thereon.
****
Project Second Chance: Project Second Chance (PSC), the Contra Costa County Library Adult Literacy Program, offers free, confidential one-on-one basic literacy instruction to people who are over 16 years of age, out of school and conversant in English.
Go through the large open doorway into the next room. On the left, immediately inside the door, is a directory of what’s in the room. This room doesn’t have a name, but it is a Quiet Study Area, and talking is discouraged.
Look around and locate the door with the PSC Computer Lab sign. On that door is a small holder for Project Second Chance business cards. Take a card and note the PSC phone numbers.
E is the 1st digit of the Prefix of PSC’s Central County telephone number.
****
Microfilm Collection: Most of the Contra Costa County Library microfilm collection is in this branch. The microfilm collection contains near-comprehensive coverage of local news sources dating back to the 19th century.
Remembering that this is a Quite Study Area, consult the floor plan for this room, and find the location of file cabinets containing the Microfilm collection.
Find the file cabinet containing the earliest issue of The Contra Costa Times. There is a Contra Costa County property number sticker on the cabinet in the upper right corner.
F is the 4th digit of the property number of this file cabinet.
****
The Vault: The Pleasant Hill Library is the only branch library with a walk-in vault. The most unique and valuable collections in this library are kept in the vault. Examples include Contra Costa Gazette folios and clippings dating back to 1868, glass negatives of photographic images of Contra Costa County, and a multi-volume, leather-bound edition of the writings of John Muir (1916).
Find the vault—it’s in plain sight in the main room—and read the name appearing on the door.
A is the last letter of this name.
****
The geographic coordinates for this geocache can be found inside an item shelved at:
A B C D . E F
____ ____ ____ ____ . ____ ____
****
Thanks to Patrick Remer, Pleasant Hill Library Manager, for enthusiastically supporting the development and maintenance of this geocache.