The library system has long needed a good PR campaign. Libraries for some reason are still seen as dusty, musty buildings filled with books and librarians who wander around shushing. If you've been in a library recently, that is simply not the case. Most libraries nowadays are becoming community hang-outs, game centers, movie rental places, and internet cafes. Oh and they still house books. And slowly the library's image is changing.
OCLC is looking to change that image a bit faster with its new Geek the Library campaign. As a self-described geek I was interested in the name. Geek can have multiple meanings but OCLC appears to be creating their own definition for this. Geek in this sense is to have a strong interest in and/or be knowledgable about a particular subject. It is about the subjects we are passionate about. (the original definition of geek was a circus performer, a wild man who bit the heads of live chickens. Fun fact) The website is a mixture of information and community forum. People are encourage to write in about their passions and share how they got interested in their subject. They are also encouraged to say how the library has helped them learn more. There are links to facebook, youtube, and myspace for people to link to and for people to spread the word about libraries.
There is information and event ideas to show the public how valuable a library can be to their community. There is a section about all the different roles a library plays. And suggestions about how to get better funding for libraries and improve services. The site is simple but interesting. It is highlighted with people's faces and what they geek. There are wallpaper images available for download and customizable gear for sale. (although when I tried them today the download links didn't work)
The focus is on making this a grassroots movement to improve libraries and the funding sources. People forget that during times of economic crisis the number of people using the library goes way up, and the amount of budget available to the library goes down. This is OCLC's way of helping out. I'm a huge fan of any library initiative and excited that this one is very grassroots. They are capitalizing on the current social networks and creating one of their own. It is a wonderful program that I hope does well. Then again I always want to see libraries and library programs do well. I geek libraries....along with a host of other subjects. What do you geek?
2 comments:
I love this campaign! The downtown library just had to cut back their hours due to the budget crunch. Well done sister!
I figure anything to help libraries. They are always facing budgets issues but the problems get so much worse during a recession when the have to serve more. I'll have to write in about what I geek. I expect to see your name up there too.
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