Special Academic Libraries and the Millennial Patron

ABSTRACT

Special academic libraries are in the unique position to blend the innovative and user focused services of academic libraries with the niche collections of special libraries when serving their Millennial student population. Millennials are a highly researched generation, but special libraries may have not updated their services to reflect the needs and expectations of this rising generation. Maine Maritime Academy's Nutting Memorial Library serves as a case study of methods in which special academic libraries can incorporate Millennials' expectations of library spaces, services, and collections in sustainable ways.     

Mind the Generation Gap: Millennials and Boomers in the Library Workplace

As editor of On My Mind, I wanted to introduce myself and let you, the reader, know a little bit about what I intend this column to be. Primarily, I want it to be a venue for you to write about anything that has been bugging you or that you think needs to be said. This is an opinion column so please share your opinion. Maybe you want to talk about what you wished you had learned in library school. Or, perhaps you have a bone to pick with people who rely too much on using statistics in their weeding of books from the library's shelves. Whether the majority of librarians hold your opinion or not, I will try to give you a venue to express your thoughts. Also, this column is intended to be informal; feel free to use the first person. That does not mean that you cannot or should not back up statements you make with research. Please do. It does mean that personal anecdotes and stories are encouraged and make for a more interesting read. Finally, inquiries into writing for this column should be directed to me via e-mail. You will get a timely response. –Eric Jennings     

Assessing the Effectiveness of Online Information Literacy Tutorials for Millennial Undergraduates

This article reports on the findings of a study that evaluated the effectiveness of redesigning online information literacy tutorials in order to meet the learning needs and preferences of Millennial students. Using both quantitative and qualitative measures, this study compared two different online tutorials—a static, HTML-based tutorial and a dynamic, interactive, audio/video tutorial. This study found that, contrary to generalizations made in the library and education literature, Millennial students learned equally well from both tutorials. However, students expressed a much higher level of satisfaction from the tutorial designed to be “Millennial friendly.”     

Factors Influencing Retention of Gen Y and Non-Gen Y Teachers Working at International Schools in Asia

Quantitative studies on international-school teacher retention are few, especially studies that differentiate between Gen Y and non-Gen Y teachers. This article reports on the findings of a study that examined the relationship of job satisfaction factors to the likelihood of contract renewal by international-school teachers. Results from the study show statistically significant relationships between some factors of job satisfaction and contract renewal for teachers in Gen Y and non-Gen Y (Baby Boomers, Gen X) cohorts.     

What do they want? Millennials and role of libraries in Pakistan

The present study is aimed at determining the future role of libraries in Pakistan as perceived by the Millennials (people born during the 1980's and late 1990's) considering the current ongoing digital development. The quantitative research design, based on survey has been used for the study. The population consisted of students from large and medium sized general universities of Lahore, Pakistan. Stratified purposive sampling technique was carried out to select the pool of the subjects e. A self-constructed and validated instrument was used to collect data. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS (16.0). The results revealed that Millennials want future libraries to allow easy access to a wide range of reading material in both print and digital form. They want to be able to round the clock access to electronic and print resources.     

Boomers to Millennials: Generational Stereotypes at Work in Academic Librarianship

Over the past 30?years, as the American workforce has become more generationally diverse, library administrators and academic librarians alike have focused on navigating dynamics that arise in a multigenerational workplace. Much scholarly research has been conducted on generational differences; however, most of this research assumes that the individuals studied adhere to or believe in generational stereotypes. This exploratory study used a hybrid experience-perception survey to examine the role or influence generational stereotypes have on academic librarians and how those stereotypes influence the academic library workforce. While few specific generational stereotypes were found to be held by participants, perceptions of generational stereotypes still have a significant influence in academic librarians' interactions with their colleagues. This finding means that regardless of their validity, the impact of generational stereotypes cannot be disregarded in academic library workplaces.     

British Parliamentary Debate and the Twenty-First-Century Student

British Parliamentary Debate (BP) has grown in popularity in recent years and may be an appropriate debate for contemporary college students or Millennials. We argue that BP debate offers Millennials two distinct advantages: (a) BP is an accessible format, amenable to the demands of busy students; and (b) BP confers global argumentation skills required to be competitive in a globalized society.