Our New Public, A Changing Clientele: Bewildering Issues or New Challenges for Managing Libraries?

Citation

Lee Eden, B. (2009), "Our New Public, A Changing Clientele: Bewildering Issues or New Challenges for Managing Libraries?", Collection Building, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 88-88. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604950910953161

This innovative and provocative book contains 18 chapters that examine the Millennial generation – the children of the Baby Boomers, who have grown up with all the recent advances in technology, such as iPods, laptop computers, Blue Tooth, mobile phones, Tivo, etc. The book is divided into eight sections: Where Are We?, Serving Millennials, Millennials and Information Literacy, Managerial Concerns, Community College and School Perspectives, Some Examples, Hope for the Future, and Bibliographic Essays.

Section 1 has a single contribution, devoted to the library as place, and how adapting learning spaces and domesticating space can be accomplished for the Millennial generation. Section 2 has four essays: the first on reflection and thinking, learning and engagement with the Millennials; the second on working with both Millennials and Generation Y constituencies and keeping them happy in the public library, all from an Australian perspective; the third on reaching out to Generation Y information needs; and the fourth on dealing with games and gamers in the library environment.

Section 3 has four contributions as well: the first on information literacy in the modern university library; the second on enhancing library instruction and creating interactive online tutorials; the third on educating the Millennial user; and the fourth on ESL students and technology in the college library. Section 4 has one essay, on connecting diversity concerns to management issues. Section 5 has two essays: one on community college and learning resource center libraries and meeting Generation Y needs, and the second on the “I want it now” phenomenon in school libraries. Section 6 contains three case studies/examples of various libraries meeting Millennial and Generation Y library needs at Cleveland State University, the University of Toledo and the University Library of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. Section 7 has one essay on hope for the future, discussing library services and the Millennial student. Finally, Section 8 has two essays: the first on the evaluation and selection of new format materials, and changing priorities in libraries due to challenges of meeting the needs of Millennial students.

For information providers seeking to understand and deal with members of the Millennial generation, this is a thoughtful and provocative collection that warrants reading as a stimulant to new ways of perceiving this important group.