It's Not Generational

Those of us born roughly between 1980 and 2000 are known by several names: Millennials, Generation Y, Generation Next. Much has been written about our learning habits and our use of technology in all aspects of our lives. Less attention is given to us in our capacity as working professionals.

In library school, my classmates and I were told repeatedly that we were the future of the profession, that we would be the generation to usher in a new type of library, one extending beyond the bound book to include social learning spaces and new educational technologies. But I discovered differently on entering the workforce.

In early August 2008, I started my first job as a librarian at the University of Nevada, Reno. Though the university was unknown to me when I came upon the job posting, I quickly became enthralled with the prospect of working there, especially because of the brand-new library facility it would soon be opening.

Housed in a five-story, 295,000 square foot building, the $75 million Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center (www.knowledgecenter.unr.edu/about) officially opened its doors on August 11, 2008, and it is today the gem of the campus and one of its main hubs of activity.

But it is neither the Knowledge Center's newness nor its size that makes it worthy of attention—it is that the library has successfully merged traditional library services with cutting-edge technologies, thus allowing students to process information in dynamic new ways.

Among the library's highlights are a state-of-the-art media lab, software for data visualization and analysis, an automated retrieval system, group study rooms outfitted with large-screen monitors, video conferencing rooms, smart classrooms, an abundance of tables and lounge chairs, a café, and so much more.

In a 2003 D-Lib Magazine article titled "Visions: The Academic Library in 2012," university librarian James W. Marcum presented the range of responses elicited from a 2002 essay contest on the future of librarianship. Increased reliance on multimedia formats was the most popular prediction. A few essayists envisioned "librarians as technologists, working with tools that utilize artificial intelligence and multitasking to assist learners in creating individualized information portfolios."

The Knowledge Center is doing all of this...now.

While in graduate school, I researched generational distinctions within the information profession, and everything I learned led me to believe that only the young—with our easy grasp of technology, our vision, and our capacity for generating new and innovative ideas—could realize such a futuristic project.

One of the things I've been pleasantly surprised to learn in my time as a blooming professional is that the generation to which you belong does not determine how forward-thinking you are. The Knowledge Center's faculty and staff span the generational spectrum, yet they all contributed to the creation of this great space. While others were merely thinking about the library of the future, my new workmates were actually building it.

I believe the driving force behind the creation, completion, and subsequent success of the Knowledge Center is its organizational culture, which encourages people of all ages to contribute their ideas, approaches, and experiences.

All of my colleagues work in their own unique ways to, in the words of the Knowledge Center's stated mission, "stimulate and sustain innovation."

My observations and conversations with my coworkers have taught me that the foundation of this organizational culture stems from synergy. At the University of Nevada, the libraries and instructional technology and information technology units operate under the same direction. The result is a culture that fosters a collaborative approach to learning, information, and technology.

And we're not the only ones to do this. Library schools across the country have undergone similar mergers, the most prominent example being the iSchool Caucus, born of a merger among 24 information schools with similar missions. These schools recognize the important relationship among people, information, technology, and the act of knowledge creation. Having attended one such school myself, I can attest that the curriculum really does offer students the tools to become skilled professionals in an interconnected information field.

We members of this profession will always be trying to anticipate how our users' needs will change. But looking forward is different from moving forward.

My experiences thus far have taught me that, however old or experienced you are, and especially if you work together, you have the potential to move beyond speculation to action.