Seattle library hides 1,000 books around town for young people to find

The Seattle Public Library system's annual Summer Reading Program is called Century 22: Read the Future, and is tied in with the 50th anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair. Young people are encouraged to scour the city's landmarks for 1,000 books hidden throughout town, and then to re-hide them for other kids to find. Among the books in this summer's program is my own YA novel Little Brother, which is a source of utter delight for me.

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: happy mutants • Kids • libraries • literacy • science fiction • seattle

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Paul Woodford

I blog about banned & challenged books. I have also done a little geocaching. I’m having a chocolate truck/peanut butter truck collision moment here!
http://www.earwicker.com Daniel Earwicker

They did the same thing in my town, except they hid all the books in one building.
John McCracken

They should hide the books in the library. Good luck finding which books are the hidden ones.
oasisob1

This would never work in Boston, you know.
- http://bemused.geek.nz Robert Cruickshank
  
  I’d have to agree with you there. Sooner or later some hysteric is going to report one of the books as a ‘suspicious package’. Cue bomb squads, mass sackings, Fox News waging its own War on Libraries, etc. etc.
Timmy Corkery

This doesn’t surprise me in the least because the SPL totally rules. I reserve my books from home and check them out via RFID and (frickin’) laser beams. It’s like living in the future and/or magic, depending on your grasp of the tech involved. I feel completely comfortable making the blanket generalization that all folks at the Seattle Public Library system are awesome, fun, really smart and creative.
Robert

“Young people are encouraged to scour the city’s landmarks for 1,000 books hidden throughout town, and then to re-hide them for other kids to find.”

Wait. So when do they get read?
- http://ofasudden.tumblr.com/ ofasudden
  
  I’m sure ‘read them’ is implied between ‘find’ and ‘re-hide.’ It’s like Pay it Forward, or Read it Forward.
vytautasmalesh

I would like to gay marry the entire city of Seattle plz!
http://germanwotd.com Amelia_G

je suis interested in how they are protecting the books from rainwater? could be very cool & useful
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Quixote/100003766918868 Dan Quixote

This is an awesome idea. I’m going to see if my library can do something like it.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1441686231 David Wright

Every Night is World Book Night at the Library!!! This year the project is being done in conjunction w/ BookCrossing, which is basically this whole idea all year round, everywhere (and they have plastic bags for rainy climes).
Cowicide

Stuff like this just really makes me smile.
hartpandrew

Dig this.
Culturedropout

It’s all fun and games until the bomb squad detonates The Berenstain Bears. Well, actually, that might be kind of fun too… XD
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8834925 Chauncey Scott

Cynic here, find said books, sell on ebay. Make quad-drillions.
Ben Chatterton

Bibliocaching FTW.