MLA/DLA 2014 - What do you geek?

Event: MLA/DLA 2014
Presenter: Marilyn Pontious
Date: Friday, May 9th

So what do you geek? Being a "geek" I initially thought that this session would be a techy talk about some cool new technology, but this was is a little different because it wasn't so much about being a "geek",  it's more about what you're passionate about.  It's turning your passion into support from the community.  ‘Geek the Library’ is a community-based public awareness campaign designed to highlight the vital role of public libraries in today’s challenging environment and raise awareness about the critical funding issues public libraries face. 

Geek The Library at Hancock

Whatever you geek, serious or fun, the public library supports you.  Hancock War Memorial Branch Manager Marilyn Pontious is the ONLY Maryland public library participating in the 'Geek The Library' campaign. She found out about the campaign during her trip to the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) Conference in 2013.

Teen at Hancok writing what she "geeks"

Marilyn signed up to join the campaign and received great response from her community.  She put up a blackboard provided by the campaign and got great responses especially from the teens in Hancock.  It became a conversation piece and it was simply a way of finding out what her patrons were passion about and it became a way to engage the community about the importance of libraries.  The community participated by writing out what they "geeked" on the board seen here and below.  The 'Geek The Library' campaign provided most of the gear from t-shirts, bags and bumper stickers.  They provide much of the marketing material for free! Marilyn said that the only expense that she had was purchasing a banner that was less than $50.  I thought that it was a great way to promote libraries at virtually no added cost to the library other than a commitment of time. 

The 'Geek The Library' campaign is a great way for libraries to start conversations with their communities about why the library is important.  It's still not too late to join the campaign, sign-up continues until June 30, 2014.  Find out more information here.

The campaign is sponsored by OCLC, a nonprofit library cooperative that has provided services to help libraries deliver more to their users for four decades. Supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, OCLC partnered with Chicago-based marketing communications agency Leo Burnett USA to create the campaign.

Geek The Library blackboard at Hancock Library

Geek verb sign at Hancock Library

What I learned:
The 'Geek The Library' campaign is a great way to start a conversation in your community about the importance of libraries.  Initially it engages the community to share what they are passionate about, but it because an avenue to share with the community why libraries are important and even get funding if needed.  The 'Geek The Library' campaign sign-up runs until June 30, 2014, so it's not too late to sign up!  Talk to your administrator and see if you can sign up your library today!