Pass The Book

Pass the Book by the Numbers – January 2012

john.jewitt — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:40:52 +0000

As Pass the Book enters 2012, we’ve seen some fresh activity. Three books were registered locally over the holidays:

1131	Mt Airy, MD 21771, USA	2011-12-20
29	Columbia, MD, USA	2011-12-22
29	Rockville, MD, USA	2011-12-22

Both book 1131 and book 29 were registered for the third time. Here are our revised totals:

-	Secret Hour	Pay the Piper	Total
Active Copies	235	206	439
Number of Passes	342	265	607
Passed Twice	62	35	97
Passed Three Times	18	10	28
Passed Four Times	4	-	4
Passed Five Times	1 – Book 446	2 – Book 810, Book 1073	3
Passed Six Times	1 – Book 562	1 – Book 766	2
Passed Seven Times	-	1 – Book 1158	1
Participating States	18	13	-
Participating Countries	8	7	-

Copies of Pay the Piper have now found homes in seven countries: Australia, China, India, Japan, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States.

Continue to read, register and pass the book when you find our specially-marked copies of The Secret Hour and Pay the Piper!

Pass the Book by the Numbers – November 8, 2011

john.jewitt — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:25:43 +0000

There’s big news to report from the world of Pass the Book. Pay the Piper #1158 has set all sorts of records in the last few weeks. Book 1158 is:

Our most-passed book
The first book since Pass the Book began to be registered seven times
The first book to be registered in Africa!

Book #1158 was passed 9000 miles from Houston, TX. to Port Elizabeth, where it has been registered twice.

900	Columbia, MD, USA	2011-10-15 01:35:53
1170	Jessup, MD 20794, USA	2011-10-17 17:41:58
1158	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	2011-10-17 18:57:37
1158	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	2011-11-08 07:33:30

Congratulations to all the readers who are keeping copies of Pay the Piper moving. A small number of copies are still available. Contact us to request one, especially if you can pass it to South America or Antarctica, the only two continents that have not hosted a Pass the Book title!

Pass the Book Wrap-Up 2009-2011

john.jewitt — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:08:52 +0000

Last night Howard County Library System kicked off Teen Read Week 2011 and said farewell to Pass the Book with an after-hours lock-in at the East Columbia Branch. Pay the Piper copy #900 was registered as the event closed, and became our 600th registration.

900 Columbia, MD, USA 10/15/2011 21:35

Pass the Book has been active since we began releasing copies of The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld into the community in October 2009. Since then, we’ve watched 439 active, registered copies travel to many interesting and unexpected places.

Copies of The Secret Hour have been registered in:

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, D.C., Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Canada, China, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Book #562 traveled 3700 miles, visiting six readers in five states.
Book #183 traveled 3630 miles in a single pass, to Harpenden, Herts, U.K.
Book #585 traveled to Exeter, Devon, England, 3520 miles away
Book #542 was passed from Laurel, MD to San Francisco, CA, a distance of 2818 miles.
Book #207 made the leap to Elma, WA, 2831 miles from its starting point in Elkridge.
Books #101 and #130 traveled 2600 miles from Columbia, MD, to Torrance and Laguna Beach, CA.
Book 484 traveled 3000 miles from Henan, China to Kamchatka in Russia.
Book 441 was passed 3368 miles from Ellicott City to Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland.
Book 144 was sent 3670 miles from Columbia, MD to Bergen, Norway.

Copies of Pay the Piper by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple have been registered in:

Delaware, California, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Australia, China, India, Japan, the Philippines and the United States.

Book 1073 was passed 1093 miles from Shanghai to Tokyo
Book 842 was passed 2288 miles from Ellicott City. MD to Chino Hills, CA
Book 1048 was passed 1056 miles to Scribner, NE
Book 810 has been registered five times in Illinois
Book 766 has been registered in Maryland, Delaware, Michigan and Virginia.

Here are our official “final” totals as we close out Pass the Book:

-	Secret Hour	Pay the Piper	Total
Active Copies	235	204	439
Number of Passes	340	260	600
Passed Twice	62	35	97
Passed Three Times	17	9	26
Passed Four Times	4	-	4
Passed Five Times	1 – Book 446	3 – Book 810, Book 1158, Book 1073	4
Passed Six Times	1 – Book 562	1 – Book 766	2
Participating States	18	13	-
Participating Countries	8	6	-

We’ll continue to check on the locations and activity of these books, and we’ll report any interesting developments here. If you find a book, or if you’ve been waiting for the right moment to pass your book, go ahead, and watch for our occasional updates. A small number of copies remain available. Please get in touch if you would like one to register, read and pass, or if you would like to Pass the Book at your library.

Thanks to everyone who has participated in, sponsored, supported and advertised Pass the Book between 2009 and 2011. Your books are traveling the world!

Pass the Book by the Numbers – October 7, 2011

john.jewitt — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:25:24 +0000

It is time to check in with Pass the Book once again. Four books have been registered since our last review, including two out-of-state registrations in Illinois and Nebraska.Book 1048 has now been registered three times, and book 810 has been registered five times!

662	Ellicott City, MD, USA	2011-08-25
810	Wyoming, IL 61491, USA	2011-09-11
1048	West Point, NE 68788, USA	2011-09-14
880	Clarksville, MD 20777, USA	2011-10-04

Our totals reflect these most recent registrations. We’re only one pass away from our 600th registration.

-	Secret Hour	Pay the Piper	Total
Active Copies	235	203	438
Number of Passes	340	259	599
Passed Twice	62	35	97
Passed Three Times	17	9	26
Passed Four Times	4	-	4
Passed Five Times	1 – Book 446	3 – Book 810, Book 1158, Book 1073	4
Passed Six Times	1 – Book 562	1 – Book 766	2
Participating States	17	13	-
Participating Countries	8	6	-

We’re wrapping up Pass the Book 2011 with an after-hours lock-in at the East Columbia branch on Friday October 14 from 7-9.30pm. Celebrate the end of Pass the Book with games, crafts, and refreshments! Play Rock Band, sing karaoke, and enter for a chance to win door prizes. Register and complete the permission slip today, then take a look at the rest of our Teen Read Week 2011 events. We’ll see you there!

Pass the Book by the Numbers – August 19, 2011

john.jewitt — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:30:09 +0000

As we get closer to wrapping up our second year of Pass the Book, we are closing in on a total of 600 passes. Three books were registered this week:

730	Highland, MD 20777, USA	2011-08-12 00:04:11
766	Forest, VA, USA	2011-08-15 00:41:21
311	Woodstock, MD, USA	2011-08-17 19:32:14

Book 766 traveled back to Virginia from Michigan this week, entering a fourth state and becoming one of our most widely-traveled books.Book 730 was registered for the second time, showing up in Highland MD, and book 311 reappeared after being dormant for almost two years, making the short hop from Marriotsville to Woodstock. We need 5 more books to be passed and registered to log 600 total passes.

-	Secret Hour	Pay the Piper	Total
Active Copies	235	203	438
Number of Passes	340	255	595
Passed Twice	62	33	95
Passed Three Times	17	8	25
Passed Four Times	4	1 – Book 810	5
Passed Five Times	1 – Book 446	2 – Book 1158, Book 1073	4
Passed Six Times	1 – Book 562	1 – Book 766	2
Participating States	17	13	-
Participating Countries	8	6	-

Help us pass this milestone. Register, read and pass the book today!

Pass the Book by the Numbers – August 12, 2011

john.jewitt — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:00:53 +0000

With one day to go until the close of our 2011 longest pass contest, we can report two out-of-state registrations and lengthy passes. In addition to a local registration we’ve seen books registered in Michigan and California:

1057	Ellicott City, MD 21043, USA	2011-07-31 17:25:11
846	Chino, CA, USA	2011-08-06 11:06:34
766	Midland, MI, USA	2011-08-08 21:20:59

Book 766 was passed 547 straight-line miles from Dover, Delaware to Midland, Michigan this week, and book 846 moved north-east a couple of miles from Chino Hills to Chino, CA.Meanwhile book 1057 was registered locally for the first time.

-	Secret Hour	Pay the Piper	Total
Active Copies	235	203	438
Number of Passes	339	253	592
Passed Twice	61	32	93
Passed Three Times	17	8	25
Passed Four Times	4	1 – Book 810	5
Passed Five Times	1 – Book 446	3 – Book 766, Book 1158, Book 1073	4
Passed Six Times	1 – Book 562	-	-
Participating States	17	13	-
Participating Countries	8	6	-

Register, read and pass the book today, & check back next week to see which of our recent passes win prizes in our furthest pass contest.

Pass the Book by the Numbers – July 29, 2011

john.jewitt — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:51:46 +0000

There are two registrations to report this week. Book 766 was passed 71 straight-line miles from Laurel, MD and registered for the fourth time in Dover, DE. Book 742 was registered for the second time in Columbia:

766	Dover, DE, USA	2011-07-24 22:38:10
742	Columbia, MD 21045, USA	2011-07-25 21:50:25

Delaware becomes the thirteenth state to host a copy of Pay the Piper. Copies of Pay the Piper have now been registered in thirteen states: Delaware, California, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia. This week’s registrations have also taken us past another milestone. Copes of Pay the Piper have now been registered 250 times since Pass the Book 2011 began last October:

-	Secret Hour	Pay the Piper	Total
Active Copies	235	202	437
Number of Passes	339	250	589
Passed Twice	61	32	92
Passed Three Times	17	7	24
Passed Four Times	4	2 – Book 766, Book 810	5
Passed Five Times	1 – Book 446	2 – Book 1158, Book 1073	3
Passed Six Times	1 – Book 562	-	-
Participating States	17	13	-
Participating Countries	8	6	-

Remember, we’re watching out for the three farthest passes made before August 13. How far can you pass the book?

Pass the Book by the Numbers – Friday July 22, 2011

john.jewitt — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:00:43 +0000

Week three of the 2011 longest pass contest features another long-distance international pass. Book 1073, registered in Tokyo, Japan on December 25, 2010, was passed 1093 miles this week to Shanghai, China. Book 1073 is the first copy of Pay the Piper sent to China, and is our second Pass the Book to find a home there, after book 484 was registered there in June 2010. Book 1073 is also the book with the third farthest single pass since July 1st, as well as one of our most-passed books.

Book 766 was registered for the third time this week, and three books were registered for the first time. With all of this activity, there are now more than 200 different registered copies of Pay the Piper out in the world to pass.

Here are the details of this week’s registrations:

1073	Shanghai, China	2011-07-16 05:04:17
698	Olney, MD, USA	2011-07-17 15:20:24
766	Laurel, MD, USA	2011-07-17 21:03:42
662	Ellicott City, MD, USA	2011-07-17 21:28:54
679	Ellicott City, MD, USA	2011-07-18 15:35:35

Our totals are climbing as we get closer to 450 active copies, 600 total passes, and 100 copies registered twice:

-	Secret Hour	Pay the Piper	Total
Active Copies	235	202	437
Number of Passes	339	248	587
Passed Twice	61	31	92
Passed Three Times	17	7	24
Passed Four Times	4	1 – Book 810	5
Passed Five Times	1 – Book 446	2 – Book 1158, Book 1073	3
Passed Six Times	1 – Book 562	-	-
Participating States	17	12	-
Participating Countries	8	6	-

If you have a book, pass it this week! If you would like a book to register, read and pass, visit your closest branch of Howard County Library System.

Pass the Book by the Numbers – Friday July 15, 2011

john.jewitt — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:04:48 +0000

We’ve had another busy couple of weeks here at Pass the Book, with an impressive first week of entries in our Longest Pass Contest:

Book 846 was registered in Chino Hills, CA, 2288 miles from Elkridge, MD where it began.
Book 1048 was registered in Scribner, NE, after being passed 1056 miles from Ellicott City, MD this week.

These books, both passed to states that haven’t hosted a copy of Pay the Piper before, are front-runners in our longest pass contest after week one.

Copies of Pay the Piper have now been registered in twelve states: California, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

There was plenty of other Pass the Book activity this week too.

Books 729 and 846 were registered for the second time this week.
Book 1081 was registered for the third time, this time in Baltimore City
Book 747 was registered in Columbia, MD for the third time.

Here are all of this week’s passes:

747	Columbia, MD, USA	2011-06-26 01:13
687	Columbia, MD, USA	2011-06-27 16:18
1069	Ellicott City, MD, USA	2011-07-01 01:09
1058	Ellicott City, MD, USA	2011-07-04 20:58
1039	Ellicott City, MD 21043, USA	2011-07-06 00:48
1081	Baltimore, MD, USA	2011-07-06 00:51
729	Columbia, MD 21045, USA	2011-07-08 14:27
846	Chino Hills, CA, USA	2011-07-09 19:37
861	Ellicott City, MD, USA	7/12/2011 20:31
1048	Scribner, NE 68057, USA	7/14/2011 1:14

Our totals are climbing steadily as the summer progresses:

-	Secret Hour	Pay the Piper	Total
Active Copies	235	199	434
Number of Passes	339	243	582
Passed Twice	61	31	92
Passed Three Times	17	6	23
Passed Four Times	4	2 – Book 1073, Book 810	6
Passed Five Times	1 – Book 446	1 – Book 1158	-
Passed Six Times	1 – Book 562	-	-
Participating States	17	12	-
Participating Countries	8	6	-

Only one more newly-registered book is needed to get us to 200 active copies of Pay the Piper, and 18 more passes will give us a cumulative total of 600. Register a copy of Pay the Piper today, and pass it as far as you can!

Longest Pass Contest 2011

john.jewitt — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:07:03 +0000

It is summer, and the time has come once again for the Pass the Book longest pass contest.

Are you traveling this summer? Why not Pass the Book while you’re there? Maybe you’re staying home and someone is coming to visit you. Why not send them home with a book to pass?

Between Friday July 1 and Friday August 19 we’re on the lookout for the three books that are passed the farthest distance from point A to point B in a single pass. Books should be registered at both ends of their pass to qualify.

Prizes will be awarded to the three people who pass those books and the three people who register those books when they receive them. Last year’s longest pass winners all sent their books more than 3000 miles across international borders, so think big!

If you’re traveling this summer…or even if you’re not…don’t forget to read, register, and pass!