LIS 631: Discussion Topic #4

Group 1 Summary
Why should the answer be Yes?
Do you think the "graying" of the
Who do we picture when we are
librarian workforce limits libraries
discussing a population intimidated by new
ability to embrace emerging
technology? Many would picture the
technologies, innovate, and stay
generations who were unable to grow up
relevant in today's high-tech world?
playing on, working with and being entertained
by technology every day as the millennials
were. A 2006 article reads, older adults expressed less comfort in using technology and less
confidence in their ability to successfully use these systems. (Cjaza et al., 2006) Because a large
portion of librarians are considered older adults1 could this be a sign that libraries will inevitably
experience turmoil when trying to keep pace with the newest technology?
Employment of librarians is projected to grow 7 percent from 2012 to 2022, slower than
the average for all occupations." (Librarians, 2014) As employment growth is expected to be
minimal, retirement rates are projected to increase. "In the WILIS survey, all respondents were
asked about their retirement intentions and plans. If the reported intentions hold true, by 2013
almost half of all librarians aged sixty-two or more, or 12 percent of the total library workforce,
will have left. By 2018, 63 percent of those aged sixty-two or more, or 23 percent of the library
workforce, will have left. ...The ongoing demographic shift that is occurring as the Baby
Boomers retire is clearly a major workforce challenge for academic libraries and one that will
require creative approaches to recruitment, succession planning, and retention at various career
stages." (Moran, Marshall, & Rathbun-Grubb, 2011)
Unfortunately, an increase in chronological age may be associated with a decline in the
ability to learn. While there are exceptions to the general trend and strategies to prevent cognitive
deterioration, it's a problem which has to do with the aging brain running out of new neurons for
utilization. This may pose a problem that is going to endanger the library profession as a whole:
a lack of ability to benefit from adaptive new research technologies. If we are not able to stay on
top of information technologies as a profession, we'll be dominated by those who are capable of
using them effectively. Eventually, that could result in the IT profession absorbing the duties of
the librarian, and the traditional librarian will be no more.

With 50 percent of librarians over the age of fifty in 2007, and more than 20 percent over the age of sixty, a large
number of retirements can be expected. (Manjarrez, Ray, & Bisher, 2010)
1

Time in hours

Why should the answer be No?

Much of group 1 would agree that there are a few staff members at any given library that
are younger and/or tech-savvy (or at least willing to learn) who could help teach others about
new innovations. Many older librarians could actually be excited by the new developments and
eager to learn about and utilize them. We anticipate that they will realize (if they do not already)
that in order to remain relevant they must adapt to technological changes.
However, many elderly librarians do have trouble using some hi-tech equipment. This
may lead to a difference in job duties and/or changes in how retirement is gone about for those
who are of varying generations. For example, Casey (2010), discusses "bridge employment",
which has older staff move to part-time in preparation for retirement. She gives examples of how
they can help with things in their knowledge base, such as helping with book displays, reference
questions and cataloguing projects. As Jones mentions in her article, retraining staff is extremely
important. Libraries cannot just focus on the new employees and forget about the older
staff. With the amount of free classes and resources, training on new technologies and systems is
not difficult. Jones also talks about a librarian nearing retirement age and how they thought he
would be resistant to technology. He actually loved his PDA, but was hesitant about the costbenefit ratio and thought in depth analysis of usefulness needs to be done first. (Jones, 2013)
A little anxiety about emerging trends is not necessarily a bad thing because new
technology adoption is sometimes unnecessary and wasteful. Sometimes immediately adding the
newest trend is not the best course of action. This is where we could use a little resistance and
feedback from those who have found the grove of a system and what works best (maybe a more
experienced generation?). This is where we see the importance of healthy communication
between the generations. If things were explained more to reduce anxiety, there would be some
valuable feedback in how a technology could not just be adopted but applied towards methods
that have worked best but now just have a newer, more modern, venue. In a NY Times
article, there is talk of the rapid adoption of new technologies by the younger generation and how
it may have unfortunately led to a decrease in their ability to have deep quality/critical thinking
skills as a results of rapid task changes. (Richtel, 2010)
The difference between
Digital
Millennials and Boomers in the use
40
35
of digital media weekly is only 12
35
30
hours. This is not so big when you
30
23
take into account the fact that
25
20
many boomers are not at college,
13
15
or school any more while more
10
millennials are studying, and of
5
course using digital media very
0
Millennials (18- Gen X (35-49) Boomers (50-69) Silents (70+)
often. (Marketing Charts &
34)
Experian, 2014)
Weekly time spent with media in the U.S. 2013, by medium type and age (in hours)

Research by the Pew Charitable Trust shows that senior citizens (age 65 and over) are
actually very receptive to learning and using technology with over half of the seniors included in
the research indicating a proficiency with internet utilization (Cohn & Taylor, 2010).
As Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
said, baby boomers are not a generation new to technology (OConnor, 2014). They have seen
the invention of the touch-tone phone, the home computer, cell phones, and space travel and they
have kept up. There is no reason to think that a generation of people who are currently employed
in a field that regularly uses new technology would not be able or willing to keep up with their
younger colleagues.
In the Pew Research Center study they make note of a distinction that is often overlooked
when reporting statistics about use of technology by senior citizens. The data falls mostly into
two groups; group one is comprised of seniors on the younger end of the scale who also have
higher incomes and advanced degrees and group two is made up of seniors who are on the older
end of the scale who have no advanced degrees and lower incomes. The members of group two
do not use the internet as much and are much less familiar with new technology. But the
members of group one are largely still employed or recently retired and are very comfortable
with technology. In fact this study shows that 74% of seniors age 65-69 go online and 65% have
broadband in their homes (Smith, 2014).
It makes sense to surmise from this that when the numbers representing both groups of
seniors are reported it can seem like senior citizens as a whole are not keeping up with
technology. But when the numbers are examined more fully it becomes apparent that the two
groups of seniors have wildly different realities when it comes to technology and internet use and
the distinction is vital.

Conclusion
Although, the age discrepancy when it comes to librarians should not be ignored. There
are also dramatic gender and ethnic disparities which need to be addressed as well. The key is
balance. We need the older generations of librarians to represent the glory of libraries past and
relate to an important part of the community who utilize the library a good deal, the older
generation. We also need fresh-faced LIS graduate students, like ourselves, who are excited to
develop the field into what we know it can be, a technologically advanced community learning
center. We need all races, ethnicities, and genders to come to the table and represent every
faction of the population because we wish to serve as many people as possible.
Another vital action to keep in mind so that we can increase the value and utilization of
libraries is to move forward steadily and gradually. Some libraries fail to keep up with the
emerging technology and this inability to move forward leaves them irrelevant to the population
they are supposed to be serving. Other libraries move forward in ways that are too extreme and
because the community or the staff are not ready for such a large shift, the libraries can implode.

An article by Michael Agresta gives an example of this phenomenon; the New York Public
Librarys recent and shaky attempt to get rid of much of their collection of books. The article
states, Like so many other time-honored institutions of intellectual and cultural life
publishing, journalism, and the university, to name a fewthe library finds itself on a precipice
at the dawn of a digital era. What are libraries for, if not storing and circulating books? With
their hearts cut out, how can they survive? (Agresta, 2014). The goal should be to find a healthy
middle-ground. If we do not grow with the world around us, the consequences would obviously
be detrimental, we would not longer be very helpful to the community and that is a librarys core
reason for existing, in my opinion. If we progress too quickly, we risk losing our identity, history
and possibly losing value with a part of the population who may be intimidated by the everadvancing technology.

References
Agresta, M. (2014). What Will Become of the Library. Slate. Retrieved from:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/design/2014/04/the_future_of_the_library_how_they_ll
_evolve_for_the_digital_age.html
Casey, A. M. (2010). Who will do the job? Hiring older workers to fill library labor gaps.
Library Leadership and Management, 24(1),
http://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=hunt-library-staffworks
Cohn, D., & Taylor, P. (2010). Baby Boomers Approach 65-Glumly. Pew Research Center.
Czaja, S. J., Charness, N., Fisk, A. D., Hertzog, C., Nair, S. N., Rogers, W. A., & Sharit, J.
(2006). Factors predicting the use of technology: Findings from the center for research
and education on aging and technology enhancement (create). Psychology and Aging,
21(2), 333-352. Retrieved from: http://uncg.worldcat.org/oclc/109689950
Jones, Marie F. (2003). Strategies for managing an aging workforce. The Southeastern Librarian,
50(4). Retrieved from:
http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=seln
Librarians. (2014). Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook
Handbook. Retrieved from: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-andlibrary/librarians.htm#tab-6
Manjarrez, C. A., Ray, J., & Bisher, K. A. (2010). Demographic Overview of the Current and
Projected Library Workforce and the Impact of Federal Funding. Library Trends, 59, 6
29. Retrieved from: http://uncg.worldcat.org/oclc/729423213
Marketing Charts & Experian. (2014). Weekly time spent with media in the United States in fall
2013, by medium type and age (in hours). In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved
from: http://www.statista.com/statistics/348269/digital-traditional-media-consumptionage-usa/
Moran, B. B., Marshall, J. G., & Rathbun-Grubb, S. (2011). The Academic Library Workforce:
Past, Present, and Future. Library Trends, 59, 208-219.
OConnor, F. (2014). Baby Boomers Embrace Technology As Much As Younger Users. PC
World. Retrieved from: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2153080/baby-boomersembrace-technology-as-much-as-younger-users.html
Richtel, M. (2010). Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction. NY Times. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Smith, A. (2014). Older Adults and Technology Use. Pew Internet Research Center. Retrieved
from: http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/03/older-adults-and-technology-use/