IMLS Libraries Project

Library Examples from Fall 2022

This past fall we had some exciting projects come out of our first national cohort for Engaging Beyond Our Walls (see program description). We accepted nearly 20 libraries to our program, from Vermont to the Big Island of Hawaii (see map and details in our announcement blog post).

Explore a Haunted Caboose

in Umatilla, FL

A visualization of the story (at left) and the display table used on Halloween for recruiting (at right)

Community members were able to participate in a spooky story led by a friendly ghost about the historical caboose in the center of town. The library launched this activity in time for Halloween as a simple interaction and have since grown the project to a complex branching narrative.

Example of the activity as it would appear on a phone. Click to enlarge.

Materials used: Hive Mechanic + Posters around library and Caboose + Visitors table on Halloween

Hive Mechanic Workshop Series for the Community 

in Bayfield, WI

Bayfield Librarian leading a brainstorm for community members

Early in December, this library kicked off an in-person workshop series to train about a dozen community members how to use Hive Mechanic and ways to design community focused activities. Their meetings produced ideas for potential games in their community which led to an ongoing design meeting to keep building things. See also: their model for a “three workshop series.”

Materials used: Hive Mechanic + Remote Zoom Training with EBOW Staff

Historical Scavenger Hunt 

of Port Washington, WI

Poster used to recruit participants

Community members had to search around town for answers to historical trivia questions. Winners would get prizes from the city. Participants had 11 trivia questions to answer, leading them on a walk to the 11 locations in town the answers corresponded to.

Example of the activity as it would appear on a phone. Click to enlarge.

Tech materials used: Hive Mechanic + Printed Posters with QR Code

Virtual Storywalk on Architectural Shapes

In Spooner, WI

A placeholder version of stop #17 on their storywalk

Participants needed to walk around their community and see what shapes they could spot in their community. This idea was based on a book to teach different shapes to young kids, which they were encouraged to read at each stop of the activity. Participants had the option to participate in the activity as part of another StoryWalk the library was hosting. The virtual activity was integrated with 4 stops on the StoryWalk and involved taking pictures of shapes in their surroundings and answering trivia questions.

Example of the activity as it would appear on a phone. Click to enlarge.

Materials used: Hive Mechanic + Posters hanging at select stops in town + Sticky notes for prototyping

Playtest for Park Game

an Upcoming Project in Los Angeles, CA

Example of a historical photograph used in the playtesting prototype

This project out of Los Angeles is currently in development and will feature the history the Sawtelle neighborhood and the footprint the Japanese community had on the city. Led by a personified stone lantern, participants will be led around the neighborhood to learn about how it used to look like and the people who lived there.The project is currently still being worked on and gone through a few rounds of playtesting to get the personality of the narrator solidified. Playtesting is a powerful way to explore new kinds of interactive stories and to build community support around a project idea.

Example of the activity as it would appear on a phone. Click to enlarge.

Materials used: Hive Mechanic + Historical Photos from the neighborhood + Current photos of the neighborhood.

These are just a few of the projects created in the fall of 2022. We picked these to showcase the variety in community types, approaches, and technologies.