— I geek my Heavenly Father, I geek my family, I geek my pets, and I geek libraries.

What do you geek? Geek is a verb meaning: to love, to enjoy, to celebrate, to have an intense passion for; to express interest in; to possess a large amount of knowledge; to promote.

“Everyone has something they are passionate about — something they geek. Maybe you geek football or hip hop. Maybe you are passionate about organic gardening, classic movies or volunteering. Or maybe you just geek the weather. Whatever you geek, serious or fun, the public library supports you. The public library inspires and empowers. With Internet access, knowledgeable librarians and local programs, it is an important resource for your community. And for millions of Americans, it is their only access to essential resources they need to improve their lives. For many, the library is not a luxury, it is a necessity.” (geekthelibrary.org)

“Geek the Library” is a promotional campaign provided to libraries by OCLC, a nonprofit library cooperative with funding by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Muskogee Public Library and all other branches of The Eastern Oklahoma District Library System are going to use this campaign throughout 2013 to raise awareness concerning our libraries.

Muskogee Public Library is one of the most valuable resources in the city of Muskogee and we have been for more than 100 years, yet many people are not aware of all we have and all we do. A lot of people still think we are only a big building full of books. They are not aware that we have DVDs, computers, games and a game night, a Wii with games for people to use, meeting rooms, a literacy program for adults, early literacy for school readiness, genealogy, Lego club, kids after-school craft time, a teen section and special programs. They don’t know we help people learn how to use technology through classes and our one-on-one “Book a Librarian.” They are not aware that we may have an online class available for whatever it is they “geek.” So whatever people are passionate about, whatever they “geek,” Muskogee Public Library supports it all.

We hope that throughout the year residents will share with us what they geek and see how we support their passion. Also, we will be having several special events throughout the year and we hope everyone will participate. Visit Muskogee Public Library and go to geekthe

library.org to learn more.

Jan Bryant is the head librarian for the Muskogee Public Library. Reach her at (918) 682-6657.