Results published from the Geek the Library awareness campaign pilot

A couple of years ago, we embarked on a research journey to test the question:

Can a large-scale library support campaign effectively increase and sustain funding for U.S. public libraries by reaching and influencing the segments of the voting population that have the most potential to become committed library supporters?

The research findings in From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America, published in 2008, indicated that the answer is 'yes.' So, with the help of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we wanted to test the research in the field. An awareness campaign, informed by the research, was piloted in partnership with nearly 100 U.S. public libraries in Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Geek the Library: A Community Awareness Campaign, a comprehensive report documenting the findings from the Geek the Library pilot campaign, is now available for download. The report discusses the history behind the project, it documents the qualitative and quantitative research conducted before and after the pilot campaign, and provides insight from the important experience of the dedicated pilot libraries.

Geek the Library had strong results in the pilot markets and the combined findings indicate that a larger-scale awareness campaign, such as Geek the Library, can deliver results.

• Geek the Library gets people's attention. In just five months, more than half of surveyed residents were familiar with the campaign.
• Geek the Library raises awareness. Perceptions and attitudes around the library's importance and value in the community improved in southern Georgia, and more people said they were willing to fund the library.
  
• Geek the Library encourages action. Over two-thirds of surveyed residents in both southern Georgia and central Iowa had planned or had taken an action as a result of the campaign, including talking to friends and family about the library or attending a library event.
  

 The report provides detailed results from the pilot and is full of interesting examples of the creative ways pilot libraries implemented the campaign locally. I would like to thank each and every library participant for their significant commitment to making the pilot a success.

Download the report for free.

If you are interested in running Geek the Library in your community, the campaign is now available freely to all U.S. public libraries. Many libraries across the country have already signed up to run the campaign in their community. Visit get.geekthelibrary.org for more information.