Allison BaileyProgram Design5/15/2014

Geocaching Program for the American Alpine Club Library

The American Alpine Club Library is a special library focusing on mountaineering, technical

rock climbing and alpine exploration. We serve about 5000 members from all over the world, though

the library and the club headquarters are located in Golden, CO. The American Alpine Club has

regional satellite offices around the United States, though these offices do not include libraries.

To raise the visibility of the library and engage with our patrons in a way that might appeal to

them, we'd like to implement a geocaching program for members of the American Alpine Club.

Geocaching is a treasure hunt game, the object of which is to locate caches hidden by players for others

to find using GPS satellite information accessed through smart phones or navigation gadgets.

For the initial implementation of this program, library staff will hide three caches near the

summits of Mount Bierdstadt, Mount Massive and Uncompahgre Peak. Mount Bierdstadt is located

about two hours from Denver, near Georgetown – making it easily accessible. Mount Massive is

located close to Leadville, about a three hour drive from Denver – for patrons who would like

something a little more remote. Finally Uncompahgre Peak is located in the San Juan Mountains in the

South West portion of Colorado, roughly a six hour drive from Denver. Each of these peaks is a

popular destination for hikers and climbers and each of them is compatible with the hiking/climbing

skills of the library staff.

Because most of our library patrons desire asynchronous library services which they can access

or participate in remotely while engaging in a variety of outdoor activities, the program will last for

three months – from June 1st to August 31st. The library will announce the program to club members

using direct email, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as announcements on the

library's website. The library will also print 300 small fliers with information about the event which can

be distributed to club members who visit the library in person.

Once the program has officially begun, members can find the caches with their smart phones or

navigation devices. The library will prominently feature guidebooks, blogs and trip planning resources

focusing on the areas where the caches are hidden. The library will register the caches with a free and

open source geocaching service such as OpenCaching (www.opencaching.us/). Members will be

directed to use this site and its geocaching app to participate in the program.

The caches will be contained in a small metal box and will consist of free American Alpine

Club stickers, silly hats and glasses, a log book and a pencil. Participants who successfully find the

caches will be encouraged to write their names in the log book and send the library pictures of

themselves in the hats and glasses. The first three members to find each cache and record their names

in the log book will receive a free guidebook from the library as their prize. Pictures taken by members

with the cache materials (silly hats, glasses, etc.) will be featured on the library's social media pages.

The program will be considered a success if at least three people find each of the caches and enters

their name into the logbook.

Staff involvement will include all three library staff members and will consist of hiking to the

summit of one Fourteener each to hide a cache and enter the necessary coordinates into the geocaching

website. Staff will also assist participating members find library resources such as maps, guidebooks

and trip planning books for the relevant areas. Finally, staff will also need to add pictures of members

at the caches to social media pages and award the prizes to the winning members.

Additional staff involvement from the broader organization (outside the library) will include the

marketing department, which will handle the design and printing of fliers and coordinate with social

media promotion and direct emailing. The library will pay for the printing of the fliers out of its budget.

Budget:

Gas reimbursement for librarian trips to peaks: $200

Printing of fliers: $75

Cache materials: $90

Guidebook prizes: Free! (Guidebooks are donated by their publishers)

Total: $365.00

Possible unexpected expenses:

It is remotely possible that a member who is injured while looking for a cache could sue the

club or the library. It may be worth it to include legal disclaimers on promotional materials. However,

this kind of liability is a threat for most of the materials and activities the club provides to members and

there may already be necessary safeguards in the terms of membership.

If library staff experiences car trouble or is injured while hiding the cache he or she may need to

be reimbursed by the library.

The first three action steps in this plan would be:

1. Meet with the marketing department and club directors for approval and planning.

2. Register the library with open source geocaching website and perform trial run in library parking lot.

3. Begin promotion on social media pages.

Longer term goals:

If successful, this program can be expanded to regional satellite offices of the club and even

farther if remote club members or employees are willing to hide caches for the library. Eventually, if

budgeting allows, the library could purchase one or two portable GPS navigation devices for check out

to patrons who wish to participate, but don't already have the necessary technology.