The Library Has Got the Geek

The Public Library has got a new campaign and wants to know:

"What do you Geek?"

The definition of "geek" has changed considerably through the years. Once defined as a sort of odd or bizarre person or character, the Urban Dictionary defines geeks as,

"The people you pick on in high school and wind up working for as an adult."

There are so many derivative meanings these days and I like to fall back on the one that makes the most sense when it comes to the Library's new Geek Campaign and I turned to the Oxford Dictionary for this,

"To be or become extremely excited or enthusiastic about a subject."

When I went to the Public Library recently, I was met with Geek posters everywhere. More than 100 U.S. public libraries have launched local Geek the Library campaigns. The advertising is meant to focus on the passion within each of us,

"The campaign introduces the word 'geek' as a verb and draws attention to the fact every individual is passionate about something and anyone can learn more about what they geek-what they are passionate about-at the public library."

The Public Library has transformed itself into more than just a quiet place to read a book and many are the one-stop job center and free Internet access. According the www.geekthelibrary.org website, "70 percent of public libraries report that they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities."

Go ahead, show your support for the local library and tell them what you "Geek."

You can follow the Library Geeks on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/geekthelibrary

Or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/geekthelibrary

Get your Geek on at the Library.

Funding for the campaign came in the form of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sources:

http://geekthelibrary.org/geek-the-library/index.html

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=geek

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/geek

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/places/US-Libraries-Launch-Ad-Campaign-to-Boost-Image-Funding-122721514.html

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/grants/Pages/overview.aspx