Tonight I went to my first high school football game since being in high school myself. I was there as part of the Geek the Library promotion. This time I added velcro and straps to a couple of share boards to create a wearable sandwich board and, armed with silver sharpies, asked Greenwood and Whiteland teens what they geeked. Most of the kids needed more of an explanation before writing their passions on the boards. Some kids were into it right away, sharing everything from football to twitter to singing to girls. Those who signed the Geek board received a What do you geek? water bottle or a bag or a t-shirt or a sticker. Even in this day of high-tech gadgets I was amazed at how popular the t-shirts were. The bags all were stuffed with Inspire Geek Bookmarks and program information.

Events like this allow us as librarians the chance to connect with our community away from the library. It helps break potential patrons’ pre-conceived notions of what librarians are like (hopefully) and might help them recognize the campaign in the future or think of us the next time they are in the need for information.