Collections for Millenials

There’s a lot our culture hasn’t defined pertaining to Millennials. This generation is the first to grow up with developed web-access. Millennials like to read books and libraries are taking notice. As a result, it should come as no surprise that 50% of millennials confirm having used a public library in the last year, a slightly higher total than the 47% of those over 30 (Zickuhr & Rainie, 2014). In Kaser’s article, “Millennials: The Future of the Public Library”, it’s suggested that the book industry and libraries are slowly coming around to cater to this age group. A new genre called New Adult focuses on twenty year olds, while broad, it focuses on the interests and experiences of Millennials. Kaser observes that many libraries have a children’s section, young adult section, and adult section, but for now, few libraries offer a section that specializes in Millennial interests. Initially, there wouldn’t be a reason too, but, as we see a developing reading audience that habitually uses library resources, having a section designed for a positive user experience may not be a bad idea. Kaser ends her article by asking libraries what they offer for this impressive population of library patrons. After reading her persuasive article, I intend to keep an eye on this generation and how and why they use libraries.

Finally, Kaser leaves us with one question: Has your library created any specific collections or programming to cater to millennials?

References:

Millennials: The Future of the Public Library

Kaser, Gretchen, December 29, 2014

[1] Zickuhr, Kathryn, and Lee Rainie. “Younger Americans and Public Libraries.” Pew Research Internet Project (2014). Web. 25 Oct. 2014. <http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/09/10/younger-americans-and-public-libraries/>.

http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2014/12/millennials-the-future-of-the-public-library/