INTRODUCTION. This is one of four combination Library/City Park caches in Lubbock. The purpose of this series is to encourage visitation to the city libraries to see the organization and various services provided. Take time to explore. What is required is to follow a series of clues to find a book-like container among real books in a library. That container that will provide lat-long coordinates on a laminated card for a cache located in a nearby city park.
The kinds of clues for finding a library container vary for each library, but I believe they are all simple enough that children can contribute to all the searches. The four libraries do not have the same hours of operation, and the hours are subject to change, so check the web for the appropriate times. All of them are open on Saturdays. A library is quiet place, please do not be disruptive.
All books in the library have numbers or letters on them so they can always be located. For non-fiction books, most libraries use the Dewey Decimal System of numbers to group books by specific subject. The lowest decimal is 0.0, the highest is 99.999.
Books of fiction are often arranged to serve specific groups of readers. Their respective codes will begin with R for Reference, LP for large print, JUV for juvenile readers, YA for young adults, BIO for biographies, and FIC for adult fiction. To these codes are added abbreviations for the last names of the authors, arranged alphabetically by author. There may also be holdings for movies (DVD) and audio books (CD).
INSTRUCTIONS. The coordinates listed are a location near the entrance to the Godeke Branch Library. The cache is NOT at these coordinates, but the cacher will pass this point during the hunt.
This search will require a mini tour of the Godeke Branch. The cacher must go to the beginning (alphabetical order and/or lowest number) of each of three collections and look behind the 3rd item from the left on a specific shelf. A clue to the location of the book-like container is attached to the back of the shelf. However, libraries have rules that if you take a real book from a shelf, you must not reshelve it…it must be placed in a designated area for the library staff to replace. Thus, I recommend you simply tip the items(s) down to read the clues.
To find the container, you may have to consult the introduction above. The clues must be obtained in the following order: YA, 2nd shelf from the top (____); BIO, 3rd shelf from the top (____); and CD, 4th shelf from the top (____).
If you have determined the information correctly, the string of characters will direct you to the location of the book-like container. Inside the container is a plastic bag containing some trade items and a laminated card with coordinates for the McAlister Park cache. For the first to find, there is a real $2 bill. If you take something, leave something.
Once you have recorded the cache coordinates for the McAlister Park cache, replace the container exactly where found. If you lose the spot, place the container in a designated area and the staff will return it.
The cache in the park is a camo-painted bison tube, about the size of the last two joints of the little finger. It is the same kind of container I use for my other park caches. The log is small, so you might need tweezers to extract it. While near the cache, you might get a look some prairie dogs, but they aren’t as tame as those in Mackenzie Park. FTF to TangoLightning.