The countdown begins, everyone stands up, eager to start. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!!!
I have been a puzzle enthusiast for many years. As a result, I have cabinets and shelves (and countertops and chairs) full of puzzles at home that I don’t plan on doing again but I can’t quite part with. When my partner’s cousin visited from Argentina a few summers ago, she told me about a puzzle competition that she participated in. This was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing, and I immediately started wondering how I could host something like this at the Lafayette Library.
After a little bit of research, we purchased 10 copies of the same 500-piece jigsaw puzzle (who doesn’t love kittens in a library?) and set registration for 10 teams of 2-4 individuals of all ages to participate. I estimated that a group of four could easily complete a puzzle of this size in a matter of two hours, and our Meeting Room could comfortably hold 40 or more puzzle enthusiasts and their supportive fans. 
While I was thinking about the logistics of a competition, I was also thinking about all those puzzlers being in the same room and what a great opportunity it would be for people to refresh their puzzle collections by swapping with other puzzlers. The result of this thought process was the Lafayette Public Library’s first Puzzle Competition and Community Puzzle Swap Puzzle-Palooza Extravaganza!
Leading up to our Puzzle-Palooza (™ pending), the Lafayette Public Library stole (okay, borrowed) a pretty sensational idea from other libraries a few years ago. Throughout the seating and shelving areas of our building, we host a few puzzle tables where community members can sit for as long as they like and work on a puzzle. Our library receives donations of puzzles frequently and can refresh these puzzles regularly. After puzzles are assembled at our community tables, they’re donated to our Friends of the Library Foundation bookstore (after the completed puzzle is displayed for a short amount of time, that is) where they’re sold for a reasonable $4. All sales our Friends make are then generously donated back to the Library, which provides us with money for programs (like a puzzle competition!).
With ample room and the puzzle lid image displayed prominently, we see people of all ages sit and enjoy working together at our puzzle tables. A man heading upstairs to use the Group Study Room spotted a puzzle table in his path and laughed maniacally, rubbing his hands together with glee as he eyed the pieces. He put a few pieces together before heading to his room reservation. A mom and her two kids visit the Library every Friday, and you can expect to see them at the puzzle table for a minimum of an hour working together to finish a puzzle (These enthusiastic puzzlers even showed up to cheer on teams at the Puzzle Palooza). Another mother will sit and puzzle on Thursday nights while her teenage daughter meets with a tutor.
While checking out a video game at the Reader’s Advisory Desk to a young man, I witnessed him stop at the puzzle table on his way out, quickly snap a piece into place, and proceed to jump backwards as if he was shooting a basketball, gleefully yipping, “Got it!” as his imaginary ball dropped into the net placed right over the puzzle table. A group of passionate daily puzzlers let staff know that the lighting and tables used for the puzzles on the Lobby Level of the Library wasn’t adequate for puzzling, so we moved the location to provide more natural light and found some great tables specifically for puzzling. Signs indicating where the puzzle tables are proudly state “You’re the Missing Piece,” inviting community members to sit with family, friends, or even complete strangers to work on piecing together the bigger picture. It’s this mentality that led us to host our first Puzzle-Palooza.
Slight tangent but stay with us here:
A third place is a public place that you can familiarize yourself with that connects you to others who share similar interests or activities. It’s a place communities gather safely that doesn’t require residents to make a purchase or pay a fee to frequent. A place you can just exist. Libraries have been a third place where people come to access information, connect with their community, and feel a sense of belonging without the need to spend money.
This model has historically been centered around books and book clubs because physical books were predominately how people accessed information, but nowadays our society accesses information mostly through the internet, and subsequently, the perspective of “libraries dying” has become a common misconception. This begs the question: How do libraries stay relevant if most people have access to the internet at home?
Access to information is one piece of the Library Puzzle. In the summer of 2022, The Lafayette Public Library began working on a Strategic Plan to better understand our community’s needs and aspirations. We surveyed as many community members as possible and after crunching the data, developed a plan with core values that focus on better building community, providing access for all, adapting and innovating our services, providing intellectual freedom, privacy, and confidentiality, and committing to providing opportunities for lifelong literacy and learning. Every program, event, and service you see the Lafayette Public Library offering from 2024-2028 will focus on a minimum of one of these five core values. Enter: Puzzle-Palooza. An event where enthusiasts of all ages can come together to share in their love of solving puzzles. Not only does a Puzzle-Palooza provide access for all, but shows the Library is dedicated to innovating how we use our space to connect to our community.
On Jan. 28, 2024, to celebrate National Puzzle Month, 60 members of the community gathered to share in their love of puzzles. While puzzling is not traditionally a spectator sport, we had several patrons who showed up to root for all the puzzlers, complete with homemade signs. There was an amazing sense of camaraderie, and we had one team made up of community members who met that same day! One team of puzzle enthusiasts even brought their own puzzle mat and lighting setup to ensure high visibility and quick movement of pieces.
After an intense 45 minutes, the first-place team claimed their prize and won the coveted Liberty Puzzle (generously donated by this incredible local company)! First place was followed seconds later by our second and third place teams who also won exciting prizes made in our very own Studio 775 Makerspace. We took our timeless Lafayette Public Library bags (available for $10 at our Lobby Desk!) and added a patch in English and Spanish that mirrors the signs at our community puzzle tables: “You’re the missing piece” they declare with excitement – and we mean it. We used one of our new Prusa Mini 3D printers to create puzzle box stands so our winners don’t have to lean their puzzle box up against an empty cup and risk it constantly falling over (speaking from experience, this 3D print file is a game changer). Each bag also contained four custom Lafayette Library puzzle keychains that were created using acrylic sheets and the Glowforge Laser Cutter.
The love, heart, and feedback we’ve received from hosting this event proves that our strategic plan goals are on the right track. We look forward to hosting an annual Puzzle-Palooza every January, so as you’re cleaning out your puzzle stash come New Year’s Day, keep the Library in mind! Between now and next January, be sure you’re subscribed to our Library Newsletter so you don’t miss big Library updates. And if you want to receive notifications of all Library news, sign up for Library News Flashes!
- Go to lafayetteco.gov/Subscribe
- Enter your email address in the box.
- Scroll down to News: check box for Library Events & News or one of our other categories (but we think subscribing to all of them is the best option 😏).
-Contributed by Betsey Yadon (Enrichment Librarian) and Emmi Hall (Library Communications Coordinator)