Geek the Library, a community awareness campaign, has positively changed community perceptions about libraries in a pilot, according to a new OCLC membership report. The campaign is designed to highlight the value of public libraries and inform the public about critical library funding issues. The OCLC report, titled 'Geek the Library: A Community Awareness Campaign', seeks to offer a comprehensive overview of the pilot campaign completed in 2010.
Geek the Library was piloted in two primary regions: southern Georgia and central Iowa, with additional communities added later in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Market surveys were conducted before and after the pilot campaign, campaign elements were tracked and direct feedback was sought from nearly 100 participating libraries. It has been confirmed that the campaign not only garners attention, but it actually helps change public perceptions about the library, librarians and public library funding.
OCLC is currently conducting a programme to help US public libraries implement the campaign locally. Interested libraries can visit www.get.geekthelibrary.org for more information. Libraries adopting the campaign reportedly benefit from the results documented in the report, including an overview of the pilot implementation and strategy; results from quantitative and qualitative research conducted to test the impact of the campaign; and analysis of feedback from pilot participants.
Geek the Library was developed based on the results of OCLC's research published in From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America. The pilot campaign was funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Search for more Grants and other research funding
To access our daily STM news feed through your iPhone, iPad, or other smartphones, please visit www.myscoope.com for a mobile friendly reading experience.
