Millenials and Me

In my new quest to achieve ultimate multitasking efficiency this semester, I've decided to write today's blog about a speaker at the dinner I attended for my other job. The speaker, whose name I don't remember at the moment, is a consultant for K-12 schools and the occasional college. His speech, which he delivered to a room of roughly 400 faculty and staff dressed like high-powered business execs, was entitled "Teaching to the Millenials." Or something like that.

The speaker asked the audience (and I'm paraphrasing) "where were you on this day in 1982." I whispered to my tablemates, much to their mirth, that I was less than a month old. The next youngest person at the table said that in 1982 she was a junior in high school. In fact, I was one of perhaps five Millenials (born between 1982 and 2002) sitting amongst 400+ Boomers and Gen Xers clad in executive business suits. And I was being placed in the same generational group as today's 4-year-olds. That's good.

On the upside, my fellow Millenials are, apparently, the next great American generation, full of technological prowess, energy and ideals, and are more interested in enjoying their jobs than in being paid well for them. The speaker told us that not only is this group of idealists even larger than the Boomer generation, but Millenials are also potentially more influential, providing they can overcome their incredibly short attention spans (look! a bunny!)

While I think it may be a little premature to start labeling today's preschoolers as America's next heroes (that's a lot of pressure to put on a kid who can't yet tie his own shoes), I did catch the speaker's two main points.

First, having been raised with computers and cell phones and various other forms of technology, Millenials are extraordinarily good (or think they're extraordinarily good) at multitasking. Thus, in class (and the library), even if Millenials are otherwise engaged and aren't staring at their teacher (or friendly librarian), part of them may still be absorbing information. Millenials do particularly well through learning activities, in which they can apply what they've learned.

The speaker's second point was that K-12 schools generally have been slow to learn and apply this information to their teaching practices. The speaker argued that this leads to students who are ill-prepared for college because information has not been presented to them in a way they can easily understand and process.

Soooo...how can I bring this back 'round to Club UGL?

Millenials (i.e. 3/4 of Club UGL attendees) know how to play with technology but aren't all that skilled in doing productive stuff with it. When they ask for help, they expect a quick answer and seem to be more interested in the ends rather than the means (witness the students who ask for directions and begin walking away when you speak).

Boomers and Gen Xers are more patient learners (and I am speaking in generalities here), but their patience is tried when they have to glean information from technology they don't understand.

These learning differences present problems for librarians charged with the task of teaching Millenials and non-Millenials how to use library resources to find information. When working with patrons one-on-one, it isn't too difficult to switch your teaching style to meet the patrons' needs. However, how do you teach library skills to a mixed group?

I've watched one drop-in workshop at Club UGL and was a "student" in another. In both, technologically-adept Millenials sat next to computer illiterate non-millenials. And at my other job I've watched many BI sessions (and gave a few of my own today) with a similar mix of students. What's the best way to teach library skills in this situation? Do you teach to the lowest common denominator and risk having the Millenials zone out on you? Do you aim high and tell non-Millenials to watch their neighbors? Or do you teach to the middle, hoping that the Millenials don't get too bored while you explain how to double-click a mouse button, and hoping that the non-Millenials can keep up? You can tell the bored or confused to ask for help later, but I'm sure many won't. Each group has a right and a need to learn, so where do you draw the balance when working with both?

blog

During her presentation last tuesday Rachel Singer Gordon talked quite a bit about using blogs and social sites to promote the library's role in the community. This made me think about how we have this blog to update our fellow GSAs about what is going on, or to discuss issues, but it might be helpful to have a blog for the people who use the library. We could use it to post problems with the computer system, or events in the library, changes in the library hours, etc. And the library users could post their issues with the library, their suggestions as to how we could do our jobs better, or questions about our services.

I don't know, maybe it's just the coffee talking. What do you guys think?

Welcome Week in the Library; or Where's My Textbook?

The game's afoot.

I had conveniently forgotten just how crowded campus is during the fall semester, and particularly how crowded it is during the first few weeks of the fall semester. Thus imagine my surprise on Tuesday when, after wading through the sea of patrons lurking outside Club UGL, I found ladyblogsalot surrounded by a slightly smaller sea of people, with yet another person on the phone. Thankfully, I didn't start working until several hours later.

I had been warned that the first few weeks of fall were "a little busy," and internally I knew that these first few weeks of the semester will be hectic. Nevertheless, like a deer in the headlights, I found myself stunned at just how many people were in the library. My first semester at the info desk took place during the sleepy summer semester, and my hours there were spent somewhat leisurely. Fast-forward to Tuesday, the second day of the fall semester -- each time I wrote down the gate count on Tuesday I stopped to recheck the number, certain that there must be a mistake. Did 4,000 people really pass through the gates in a single hour in the evening? At some point during my shift on Tuesday the gate counter definitely went haywire, as evidenced by the 4,000+ person increase in the gate count between 10 and 11 p.m. I would believe 4,000 people passed through the gates around dinnertime during Welcome Week, but certainly not around bedtime.

Now that it's the weekend the library has quieted down a bit, and I have some time to write this posting. Future GSAs might read this to prepare for their first onslaught of Welcome Week students. Current GSAs might use this posting to learn or share tips and such, or just to commiserate. Mostly, I'm writing this to vent, unwind, and absorb what I've learned this week.

By far the most popular questions that I heard were:
-"Where's building X?"
-"Where's my class?"
-"Do you have my textbook?"
-"Why don't you have my textbook?"
-"Why can I only check out my textbook for two hours?"

As students learned that they couldn't check out their books for more than a few hours, questions about using the photocopiers also became *very* popular. I did see on one student's syllabus that the professor promised to confiscate any photocopies of the textbook.

And of course, the great classics of UGL still applied: "Where's advising? Tutoring? Counseling? Where's the bathroom? The computers? The vending machines? Change for the vending machines?"

My favorite interaction of the week was:
Obvious Freshman: "Where do I go to checkout a textbook for my class?"
Me: "Textbooks are on reserve over at the checkout desk?" (I point to checkout desk).
OF: "Oh, okay." (Walks half way to checkout desk. Walks back.) "So do I tell them what book I need?"
Me: "Yup. . ." (Patron walks away as I smile and think "No, they have a psychic back there who tells them what you need.")

And to the creepy, old movie-lovin' man who said 30 years older than myself isn't too old: No...just...just no.

So, those were my Welcome Week experiences...care to share yours?