NextGen: The Inevitable Gen X Coup

When I look around at conferences, skim blogs, or visit neighboring libraries, I notice there are many other Generation Xers out there. Our numbers are growing, and the responsibility of librarianship will soon be ours. Are we ready for our inheritance?

For many of us, libraries have just about always involved computers. I was in eighth grade when the card catalog disappeared, and even today I take full-text databases for granted. Most of us have little experience with the “old” ways. While the current generation of library leadership has done an excellent job transitioning from a print to a digital world, it will be up to us, and our upcoming Gen Y colleagues, to continue the movement.

It would be easy to accept the traditional role of the library, but don't we want more? It is time for our generation to recognize our significance and start moving toward the path of leadership and responsibility. I think our elders are a bit nervous about leaving the library legacy in our hands, questioning our values and commitment. Yet the profession needs us, perhaps more than is imagined, to ensure that libraries remain relevant in contemporary society. Here is how we can get things started.

Make ALA matter to us

While it is commendable that the American Library Association (ALA) routinely battles censorship, the Patriot Act, and the digital divide, it has always had a baby boomer, ultrapolitical, protest-remnant feel to me; I cannot identify with its Sixties-era spirit. We can use ALA better to address professional concerns, particularly with publishers and vendors. Why are second-rate interfaces acceptable? Why isn't standardization a priority? Why do we accept astronomical inflation rates? Why do we pride ourselves on providing excellent customer service yet not expect the same from the companies that serve us? Let's start using ALA to serve our own interests better. Join a committee. Run for an at-large seat. It's time we made our presence felt.

Speak up

In meetings, I tend to be quiet. I often hold back out of both respect and apprehension. While the “established” librarians seem preoccupied with philosophical discussions and strategic planning, I prefer conversations that are direct and practical. I prefer working on projects over a period of five weeks rather than five years. Many of my colleagues feel the same way. So what are we waiting for? The boomers are famous for questioning authority. Why are we so hesitant? It's time for us to speak up, contribute, and be included in the decisions being made.

MARC is dead!

Catalogs can and should be more than what they are. Commercial library catalog systems are terrible. Vendors have simply duplicated the awkwardness of the card catalog. I want a system that allows me to enter “Nathen Hawtharon” and not only suggests appropriate terms but connects me to Nathaniel Hawthorne's print and web holdings as well as supplemental resources, such as criticism and biographical information. Sure, FRBR is in the works, but will it take an open source movement to wake up vendors? Can we as a profession ever really get beyond the “it's always been done like that” mentality and provide a catalog that patrons actually want to use?

More than books

Library performance involves multiple dimensions, yet we continue to assess only what is easy. A common theme in both the Association of Research Libraries and the HAPLR rankings are book counts and collection budgets. We need to bury these antiquated input/output metrics. Where is the electronic use data? Where is the customer satisfaction? Where are the activities, events, classes, workshops, and outreach initiatives? Why do we continue to measure apples with oranges and ignore the grapes? We need to up the dialog about national benchmarking to find new ways to measure effectiveness. We need to listen and react to our patrons' needs, rather than satisfying our own.

Rethink space

Let's create intellectual amusement parks. I am much more interested in what a person can do in a library than what we can put in one. This is the cultural shift for which we will be responsible. Let's expand the public's vision of libraries to create something meaningful for the modern patron. We must break down the image and practice of libraries as mausoleums of information. Libraries today should be vibrant and, yes, even noisy in some areas.

We've become a collaborative society and need to find better ways to accommodate groups and productivity. Let's look to form partnerships with external organizations, expand services to include things like tutoring, tech help, tax assistance, and translation services, as well as performance stages, pod/videocasting stations, and art studios. The potential is boundless.