Summer Learning looked very different in 2026, and one of those differences was the Kids & Teens: Book Boost, an initiative funded by the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation to give everyone 18 and under three books for their home libraries. Beyond the need to buy more books than ever, there was also a need to track how many people took us up on the boost and came back again, and again, to collect all three books.
To help our younger patrons, we wanted to create a tracker so kids could keep track of how many books they'd already picked up and be incentivized to collect all three. Throughout the 80-Year Passport to Explore project, patrons and staff alike had shared how much they enjoyed collecting stamps and participating in friendly competitions to see how closely they could line up the passport stamps with their frames...and that's when our Communications Team thought of a stamp rally.
@windowseat.ph, opens a new window Calling all #stamp, opens a new window lovers! here’s an exciting stamping activity you shouldn’t miss when you visit the #TokyoNationalMuseum, opens a new window 🇯🇵 bookmark this for your trip! #WindowSeatPH, opens a new window #Japan, opens a new window #travel, opens a new window #tokyo, opens a new window #museum, opens a new window #thingstodointokyo, opens a new window #stamprally, opens a new window #fyp, opens a new window
"Stamp rallies are really popular in Japan—they're new to us, old news to them," said Ayanna, a designer on the Communications Team and the creator of all the Summer Learning '26 art, including the stamp rally. She explained stamp rallies are used at many historical sites and train stations in Japan: "You go to each station and get your stamp, and the stamps build on themselves to create a final picture."
A Collaboration Between Communications and Silverdale Teams
Designing a stamp rally not only meant creating a series of stacking stamps that would combine to form an image, but also designing a frame to hold the stamp cards so each successive stamp would line up perfectly with the one before it. Ayanna reached out to the Silverdale branch team, who operate a makerspace, to see if they could design such a tray using their 3D printer—Silverdale's Public Services Supervisor, Wilson, quickly jumped in to help.
"I was luckily provided a design with dimensions by Ayanna, which gave a nice starting point," shared Wilson. "It was also basically a few rectangular shapes, which was nice since I hadn't done any real 3D designing for like 20 years."
For the design itself, Ayanna needed to create an image that could be broken into three discrete pieces. "I was trying to think how I could break out little pieces of this bunny guy so we could have three stamps where each stamp on its own wouldn't give away what it is, so we could build intrigue," Ayanna said. "So, we started with a pink stamp that was a little bit of ear, and some of his feet, and then it all comes together in the final stamp." The preview image on the stamp itself was covered before it was sent to branches, so that even Library staff would be surprised by the final image.
After creating the three stamp designs, Ayanna worked closely with Wilson to develop a stamp rally process that could be easily implemented by staff members at every branch. They ran into small hiccups along the way, such as the physical stamp having a plastic lip around its edge that made it larger than the stamp itself, and they had to decide whether a tray that hinged closed over the design was better than a tray that allowed the user to slide the card in directly.
"I made a design that was all one piece instead, to help reduce the number of things that might be out of alignment when you tried to stamp a patron's card—I also made it look a little nicer since I had figured out how to chamfer corners by this point," Wilson said. "I liked getting to measure and iterate on things to get the right result."
Summer Learning Launches
After weeks of trial and error, the two created Kitsap Regional Library's first stamp rally. Silverdale printed 18 plastic trays in translucent purple plastic, and the stamps were delivered to all branches before Summer Learning's kickoff on June 1.
It's safe to say the stamp rally was a hit. A patron shared, "Seeing my 4 year old daughters excitement to take ownership in choosing her books and guessing what the stamp image was" was one of their highlights of the summer.
"It was a great motivating factor for people to come in multiple times. Especially for the kiddos," said Ayanna. Across the system, library staff shared stories of kids eagerly anticipating the final image and guessing what it could be. "It's just fun. It's whimsical, and we need that."
For Fellow Libraries
If you are interested in hosting your own stamp rally and utilizing the tray files we designed for Summer Learning 2026, please click here, opens a new window. Note that for our 3D printers, we printed it rotated 90 degrees so the slot is at the top, and with auto-generated supports.
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