Millennials in the Library: Today

1
Millennials in the Library Todays Student
Library Worker

• Eric A. Kidwell
• Director of the Library
• Houghton Memorial Library
• Huntingdon College
• Alabama Association of College Research
  Libraries
• October 7, 2005

2
Neil Howe and William Strauss

• Millennials Rising the Next Great Generation.
  New York Vintage Books, 2000.

3
The Generations of the Last Century

• Generation
• Lost
• G.I.
• Silent
• Boom
• Gen-X
• Millennial
• (aka Generation Y, Echo Boomers, Net Generation)

• Birth Year
• 1883-1900
• 1901-1924
• 1925-1942
• 1943-1960
• 1961-1981
• 1982-2002

4
Characteristics of Millennials (Neil Strauss)

• Are they pessimists? No.
• Are they self-absorbed? No.
• Are they distrustful? No.
• Are they rule breakers? No.
• Are they neglected? No.
• Are they stupid? No.
• Have they given up on progress? No.

5
Dr. Mel Levine, professor of pediatrics at UNC
Medical School and director of the Clinical
Center for the Study of Development and Learning

• Levine, Mel. College Graduates Arent Ready for
  the Real World. Chronicle of Higher Education.
  18 February 2005 B11 .
• Pandemic of worklife unreadiness.
• Levine, Mel. Ready or Not, Here Life Comes. New
  York Simon Schuster, 2005.
• Echo Boomers. 60-Minutes. Narr. Steve Kroft.
  CBS. 4 September 2005.

6
The Parents of Millennials

• Helicopter Parents
• Over-scheduling
• Wills, Eric. Parent Trap. Chronicle of Higher
  Education. 22 July 2005 A4.
• University of Vermont parent bouncers the
  last line of defense

7
To Change or Not to Change That Is the Question

• Carlson, Scott. The Net Generation Goes to
  College. Chronicle of Higher Education. 7
  October 2005 A34-37.
• Richard T. Sweeney, university librarian, New
  Jersey Institute of Technology
• Michael Gorman, dean of library services,
  California State University at Fresno
• Naomi S. Baron, professor of linguistics,
  American University

8

High Expectations Digital Natives Principles / Values Huge Population
More Choices Gamers Respect Intelligence More Diverse
Balanced Lives Experiential Optimistic / Positive Family Oriented / Largely Children of Divorce
Independence Nomadic Inclusive More Friends
Healthy Lifestyle Collaborative Direct More Liberal
Merit Systems / Achievement Oriented Multitaskers Patriotic / Civic Minded Confident
Expect Incomes Exceeding Parents Graphical- Format Agnostic Entrepreneurial Adaptive / Flexible
Richard T. Sweeney sweeney_at_njit.edu
Richard T. Sweeney sweeney_at_njit.edu
9
Sweeney, Richard. Reinventing Library Buildings
and Services for the Millennial Generation.
Library Administration and Management. 19
(2005) 165-175. http//www.library.njit.edu/s
taff- olders/sweeney/index.html
10
UCLA Higher Education Research Institute

• Annual survey of incoming first-year students
• 2004 survey
• Students rated themselves above average or in
  highest 10 percent in (top ten)
• Kindness
• Drive to achieve
• Academic ability
• Cooperativeness
• Compassion
• Generosity
• Understanding of others
• Leadership ability
• Self-confidence (intellectual)
• Forgiveness