Residents of Dyersville may soon add a new verb to their vocabulary—‘geek.’

The James Kennedy Public Library is participating in “Geek the Library,” a community-based public awareness campaign launching October 1, 2012 and running through March 31, 2012. The campaign highlights what people are passionate about and how libraries can support them.

Geek the Library features local educational material that introduces ‘geek’ as a verb.  For this campaign, geek means “to love, to enjoy, to celebrate; to express interest in; to possess a large amount of knowledge in; or to promote.”   This campaign encourages the public to talk about what they ‘geek’—whether it’s engineering, superheroes or art. The public awareness campaign illustrates the fact that everyone is passionate about something—everyone ‘geeks’ something—and that the library supports them all.

“This campaign is designed to provoke conversation about the vital role that public libraries and

librarians play in today’s challenging environment,” said Cathy De Rosa, global vice president of

marketing for OCLC, a nonprofit library cooperative which led campaign development and conducted a pilot campaign from June 2009 to April 2010. “We hope it will spark important community discussions about how public libraries can remain strong.”

The awareness campaign features print advertising, social networking elements, a website and grassroots community initiatives to draw attention to the need for increased library support. The campaign website, www.geekthelibrary.org, provides information about how people can get active and support their local library.

There are nearly 1.4 billion visits to U.S. public libraries every year.  Millions of Americans rely on their public library for their only source of Internet access, to apply for jobs, to continue their education, to learn more about their passions and to communicate with family.  And the James Kennedy Public Library can support all of these endeavors!

In the coming months the JKPL plans on bringing the campaign to the community by sponsoring events at the library, attending community events, speaking to local businesses, and having local community members pose for their own custom Geek posters.

Want to learn more about the campaign?  Want to find out how you can get involved?  All are invited to join us on Friday, October 5 from 4:30-6:30 pm at the library for the official “Geek the Library” launch party.  Beer, wine, and appetizers will be served and there will be a brief presentation about the campaign.  This is a great time to come socialize with other community members, learn more about the campaign, find out what others geek, and get your questions answered.  So come get your GEEK on!