NextGen: Think Trends, Not Types

By Rachel Singer Gordon -- Library Journal, 6/15/2006

What is it about generational issues that gets people's hackles up? To see the email and blog fury fly, all I have to do is drop a word like NextGen or Millennial. It seems like we often run into the same problems trying to wrap our brains around generational issues as we do trying to talk about how librarians are perceived. First, we venture perilously close to the dangerous terrain of stereotypes: all librarians are middle-aged women with buns and glasses. No, the new librarian is young and tattooed! All GenXers are job-hopping slackers! No, the real GenXers are energetic, motivated, and tech-savvy! Of course, whenever you point to a living, breathing counterexample, generalizations quickly become meaningless.

Certainty and stereotype

Because we can always point to a real person, even ourselves, as breaking out of any generational mold, we sometimes tend to discount the whole discussion as meaningless, or even insulting. But avoiding the subject because it fails to fit into our tidy little boxes is also insulting. We should cultivate our ability to look at generational trends, not stereotypes.

Multiple factors form and influence every librarian and influence the ways in which we are perceived by others. Trying to tease out or examine one of these factors in no way negates the importance and impact of any other. I'm aware that people look at me differently once they learn I have a preschooler and that raising a child has changed my priorities and perspectives, both personally and professionally. Pretending otherwise is somewhat disingenuous.

I'm aware that other librarians make assumptions about my background and abilities because of my date of graduation, although less so the further I get from being a “newbie.” Some of these factors are fairly fixed, others fluid. But those with the greatest impact—including age—are worth examining.

Factoring in which factors?

When we are hiring managers or library staff, for example, our expectations that a Millennial colleague has a special affinity for technology (or teens and piercings) can affect the projects she is given and the positions she is offered. Assuming a boomer applicant lacks a special affinity for technology (or teens or tattoos) also shapes the interview questions he is asked and the positions for which he is considered. When we are aware of these preconceptions, we can preemptively play up or combat those for our own generation.

By the same token, pretending that generational factors have no impact on our own outlook or behavior is also counterproductive. While our generation in no way defines us, the trends and topics, technology and culture, and overall zeitgeist prevalent when we grew up can't help but influence our thinking, behaviors, and reactions. When we recognize where these factors come into play, we can interact more productively with those in other generations.

People are messy

As librarians, we like to fit things into little boxes, categorizing them just so. People, unfortunately, can be a bit messier. Perhaps this is why generational discussions make us uncomfortable. If we fall back on the comfort of categorization and definition, we get offended at being stuffed into boxes that inevitably fail to fit. If we venture into the territory of trends, factors, and influences, our librarian sensibilities are offended by an inherent fuzziness.

Oversimplification in the popular media only exacerbates the issue. Articles trumpeting Millennials as multitasking technology mavens—the latest, greatest generation since sliced bread—might as well boast, “We're cool, and you're not! We're in, and you're out!”

Know the cultural context

As librarians, though, we should know better than to get sucked into the hype. We should think about our sources and their credibility and be able to discern the hype from more reasoned and thoughtful discussion elsewhere. At the same time, when generational issues permeate the media, it behooves us to take a look.

If we can't tease out the precise percentage of our behavior and others' perceptions that is influenced by age or year of graduation or gender or any other factor, we tend either to dismiss their effects or anoint a personal favorite, viewing all interactions through our preferred lens. If we talk about difference, we tend to judge factors as better or worse and then take offense on behalf of the “losing” side.

The more coverage a topic gets, the more likely we're going to need to look at how it affects us, the way we interact with our patrons and our staff. So, the next time you read an article on generational issues, look past your immediate reaction to tease out any nuggets of truth.