Adventure Begins at the American Fork Library
We had the honor and privilege of working with the American Fork Library on a custom coloring and activity book for their 100th anniversary in 2023. (You can read all about it here!) Imagine our surprise and delight when library director Casandria Crane contacted us AGAIN and asked if we could do ANOTHER book for 2024! Casandria told us the theme of the year was Adventure Begins at the American Fork Library. Could we do a sort of adventure book? What ideas did we have?
We decided to create a pocket-sized (8 x 5.5 inch) 64-page adventure journal! Let me show you some pages and tell you all about the book!
It was important to us that the book be accessible to all patrons. That meant we needed to think about different ages, genders, socio-economic levels, and backgrounds. How could we make sure that someone who doesn’t have the means to adventure far from home feels as excited to fill out this book as their neighbor who just got back from their epic voyage to Antarctica where they cuddled penguins?
Instead of approaching the book as a traditional travelogue, documenting expensive vacations, we used the pages to expand the idea of what “adventure” means, and encourage patrons to consider all the ways that they embark on adventures! We know that not everyone is a long-winded author, so we made sure that lots of pages had prompts that were not overwhelming. The book has several checklist pages like this “How I travel” list, where patrons can reflect on their whole lives and recognize some adventure in the “ordinary.” These checklists are so fun to fill out AND SHARE!
The pages are easy to fill out, and compelling, with a variety of writing prompts to make the user laugh, and learn more about themselves! The book itself ends up being a keepsake, filled with a snapshot of who the user was in 2024.
Of course, since this is a LIBRARY adventure book, we made sure to emphasize the fact that books can take you on amazing adventures! (All from the convenience of your comfiest chair.) These pages invite the patron to list their top 5 favorite book adventures, and those who are artistically inclined can decorate the covers to their liking.
These pages position the American Fork Library right at the center of adventure in Utah! We are lucky to live in an amazing state that boasts a huge range of adventures. On these pages, patrons can think about where they may have traveled in Utah (could be close to home, could be the farthest corners!).
The last pages of the book really drive home the fact that Adventure BEGINS at the American Fork Library! Patrons can see specific ways that they can use the library as a resource for their next adventure, from checking out books to help plan an adventure, to reading books that take you on imaginary adventures, and taking advantage of library programming and services.