The Millennial Generation
Its Use of Academic Library Services and
Expectations from the Digital Library
Marta Mestrovic Deyrup, Seton Hall University Libraries
Workshop Overview
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Millennial Demographics and Characteristics
Use of Digital Information and Library Services
Reconfiguring Services
Participant Discussion
Workshop Wrap-Up
Readings Provided Online at LIDA
Site
 Millennials Rising: the Next Great Generation (Neil Howe,
William Strauss and R.J. Matson)
 Born with the Chip (Stephen Abram and Judy Luther)
 Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (Mark Prensky)
 The Internet Goes to College (Steve Jones, Senior
Research Fellow, Pew Internet & American Life Project)
 Educating the Net Generation (Diane G. Oblinger and
James L. Oblinger, eds.)
 What Students Want: Generation Y and the Changing
Functions of the Academic Library (Susan Gardner and
Susanna Eng)
 Inventing Library Buildings and Services for the
Millennial Generation (Richard T. Sweeney)
U.S. Millennial Demographics
 Born roughly between 1980-2000
 Have a variety of names:
Generation Next, Net Generation,
Generation Y, Echo Boom
Generation
 Who of you are Millennials?
 Who of you are members of
Generation X?
 Who of you are Baby Boomers?
U.S. Millennial Demographics
 Second largest generation after
Baby Boomers
 Ethnically tolerant: 60% of 18- to
29-year-olds have dated someone
of a different race (2006 Gallup
Poll)
 Multicultural: One in five have
immigrant parents (Generation Y:
the Millennials 2006 Report)
U.S. Millennial Demographics
 Latchkey children: One in four live
in single parent households
(Generation Y: the Millennials,
2006 report)
 Politically liberal
 Highly educated: number of
undergraduates in 2004 (17.3
million) almost double that in 1970
(8.6 million) (National Center for
Education Statistics)
Why the Interest in this
Generation?
 Research coming from the
Educational, Library, Social Sciences
and Business/Marketing Community
 Demographics
 First “information age” generation
 Heavy integration of gaming and
social skills
 Globalization (can be studied as a
world phenomenon)
Why the Interest by Library
Community?
 Decrease in use of traditional library
services
 Competition from Internet, Google,
Wikipedia, commercial vendors, other
sources
 Generation “gap” between librarians (Baby
Boomer Generation) and user group
(Millennials)
 New educational paradigm (independent
learners)
 Renewed interest in library as place
Demographics by Race
(taken from Generation Y: The Millennials, NAS Insights)
Educational Level by Gender
(taken from Generation Y: The Millennials, NAS Insights)
Student data in 1970 and 1999
Source: NCEA Statistics 2002/ taken from Understanding the New Students
1970
1999
Enrollment
7.4 million
12.7 million
Two-year enrollment
31%
44%
Women
42%
56%
Older than age 25
28%
39%
Employed
N/A
89%
Have dependents
N/A
27%
Snapshot of Generational Timeline
Source: Generation Next, Speak Up, Be Heard, PBS News Hour
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1982—AIDS identified
1985—Ozone layer discovered
1989—Destruction of Berlin Wall; demonstrations in
China’s Tianenmen Square
1991--End of the Soviet Union and the Cold War
1996—Oklahoma City Bombing
1999—Columbine shooting
2001—September 11
2003—Iraq War
2005—Hurricane Katrina
2007—Virginia Tech shooting
 For those of you born after 1980,
what are the key historical events in
your life?
 For those of you born between 1965
and 1980, what are the key historical
events of your life?
 For those of you born before 1964,
what are the key historical events of
your life?
Personal Characteristics
Sources: Generation Y at a Glance; Greenberg Quinlan Rosner
Research Survey; the Myth about Students
 Products of youth safety movement
 Heavily influenced by their peers and
media
 3 out of 4 eat dinner with family daily
 Family centered: 90% have close
relationship with mother; 65% a close
relationship with their father
 Identify with parents’ values
Personal Characteristics
Source: Sweeney: Reinventing Library Buildings and Services for
the Millennial Generation
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Value education and learning
Are patriotic and civic-minded
Expect instant gratification
Independent
Believe in and practice a healthy lifestyle
Expect income to exceed their parents
Want a balanced relationship between work
and family
Learning Styles
Source: First Steps Towards Understanding the Net
 Collaborative: comfortable working in
teams
 Achievement oriented
 Believe in merit-based systems
 Impatient: tune out if not interested
 Communicate through social networks
 Non-linear: visual literacy, multi-media
literacy
 If you are a Millennial, do these
descriptions describe you?
 If you are not a member of the
Millennial generation, do these
descriptions describe you?
Personal Characteristics and
Significance for Libraries
 Straw polls show that Millennials are
willing to support library bond issues
 Recognize the value of public
libraries—particularly children’s rooms
 Value the notion of library as place
 Understand that at the university
level they must use library resources
in order to succeed
 Will there still be print resources in
library in the next 10 years? If not,
what will replace them?
Media Consumption
Source: Harrison
Group/Deloitte Touche Survey: February 23-March 2007
Millennials (13-24)
Enjoy reading print magazines
71%
Use print magazines to find out what
are newest music, cars, clothes
58%
Average IM list size (most frequent
topics: TV shows)
37 people
Create personal content weekly (blogs,
videos, websites)
58%
Consume user-generated content
weekly
71%
“Digital Natives” vs. “Digital
Immigrants”
Source: Mark Prensky
Digital Immigrants
Digital Natives
Non-native speakers
Native speakers
Traditional learners
Trial and error
learners (by college
(digital
language of computers, video
games, the Internet)
graduation less than 5,000
hours spent reading, 10,000
playing video games)
Legacy content (reading,
writing, arithmetic, logical
thinking)
Future content
(digital
and technological content)
Approach to Digital Information
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Mass customization
ATM attitude
Information as a commodity
“Information is information and
NextGens see little difference in
credibility or entertainment value
between print and media formats”
(Abram and Luther)
Gender Differences in Computer
Use
Source: Educating the Next Generation
 Men: more hours playing computer
games, surfing Net, downloading
music
 Women: more time using computers
to communicate
 Higher GPA’s spent more hours using
computer in school-related activities
 Do you play videogames?
 If so, how often?
M Would you use gaming technology for
learning how to use library resources?
XB Would you be willing to experiment
with gaming technology to provide
library resources or services?
College Student Technology Use
Source: 2003 College Statistics
Have access to the Internet
100%
Own a cell phone
97%
Own a computer
93.4%
Use computer to write documents,
email and surf the Net
99.5%
College Student Usage of Cell
Phones and IM for Communication
Source: Educating the Next Generation
Use cell phone to text message
68%
Use cell phone for instant
14%
messaging
Instant messaging top choice for
50%
communicating
Log on to instant messaging several 66%
times a day
Do you use communication technologies like
Instant Messaging and Ipods? If so, how
often?
M Would you use communication technologies
like Instant Messaging and Ipods to access
library resources?
XB Would you be willing to experiment with
gaming technology to provide library resources
or services?
Weekly Technology Usage and Activities at
College Level
(Source: Educating the Net Generation)
Classroom activities and studying
using an electronic device
Writing documents (word
processing)
Surfing the Internet for pleasure
4.01
Downloading or listening to music
or videos/DVDs
Using a university library resource
to complete a class assignment
3.15
3.76
3.7
2.46
Technology Preference by Academic
Major in College Coursework
Source: Educating the Net Generation
Discipline
No Technology
Limited
Technology
Extensive
Technology
Engineering
4.8%
24.4%
67.8%
Business
1.3%
28.2%
64.3%
Life Sciences
5.7%
35.3%
56.3%
Social
Sciences
7.9%
44.4%
44.2%
Education
3.5%
47.9%
42.9%
Humanities
7.7%
47.9%
40.2%
Assessment of Students’ Technology
Skills
Source: Educating the Net Generation
 Student self-assessment (qualitative):
high-level technical skills and efficient in
Internet searching
 Research data (quantitative): in particular
freshmen overrate skills, most have only
basic office suite skills, email, Web surfing
skills. Have trouble moving beyond basic
activities
Generational Educational Problems
 Poor reading skills: NEA survey, “Reading at
Risk” reports a ten percent decline in
reading from 1982-2002
 Short attention spans
 Lack of reflection and critical thinking skills
 Problems with evaluating value of
information
 Problems with concept of ownership of
information
 Problems with concept of plagiarism
XB Do you agree with this assessment
of students’ reading, critical thinking
and information literacy skills?
M Do you agree that there is a
problem?
MXB If you agree, what have you/your
library done in response or what
would you do in response?
Educational Preferences of
Undergraduates
(Source: 2002 PEW Report Internet Goes to College)
 Prefer classroom to online learning
 Value face-to-face time with faculty
and faculty expertise
 Ability to multitask while doing
assignments
 Informal learning often takes place
online
Research Preferences of
Undergraduates
Source: 2002 PEW Report Internet Goes to College
 Prefer to use Internet before doing library
research
 Prefer to use commercial search engines to
library Websites
 Use the library to socialize, study
 At the library majority of time spent surfing
the Web, IM chatting, emailing
 80% of college students use the library less
than 3 hours a week
Comparing Online Information Searching
to Library Use
Source: 2002 Pew Internet and American Life Project College
Student Survey
Use Internet more than the library
73%
Use Internet and Library about the
same
Use Internet less than the library
16%
Don’t know
2%
9%
Leavey Library Survey: Undergraduate
Library Use
Source: Gardner and Eng: What Students Want: Generation Y and the Changing Function of the
Academic Library
Study alone
Use a computer for class work
Study with a group
Use a computer for personal reasons
Check out a book
Printing
Use a collaborative workroom
Check out reserve materials
Get research assistance
Use print journals or magazines
80.6%
61.3%
55.2%
51.1%
36.3%
35.5%
30.5%
19.5%
12.6%
12.0%
Results of the Leavey Library Survey: Library
Satisfaction on 4-point scale
Source: Gardner and Eng: What Students Want: Generation Y and the Changing Function of the Academic
Library
Hours of Operation
Study space
3.67
3.14
3.11
3.11
3.03
2.99
2.90
Print center
2.82
Circulation/Reserves Desk Service
Range of Material in library
Computer workstations
Research assistance
Library instruction
Computing assistance
Results of the Leavey Library Survey
Source: Gardner and Eng: What Students Want: Generation Y and the Changing Function of the
Academic Library
 Demand for quality academic facilities
and high academic achievement
 Need for customization of technology
and research
 Need for integration of technology
into learning
 Usage of new communication modes
 Take a few minutes and discuss the
situation at your library.
XB What services are your students
using or not using. Do you know
why?
M What are the first things you would
change in library services if current
technology was no barrier?
Policy Disconnects
Source: Millennial Net Value(s): Disconnects Between Libraries
and the Information Age Mindset
 Library policy decisions focus on developing
electronic text-based libraries without much
multimedia content
 Library systems need expert instruction to use
 Library is present outside student services
(learning management systems and social
networking arenas)
 Access to information reflects library
organizational structure rather than user
preference or usage
 Library lacks support for file-sharing, worksharing and other trust-based transactions
Library Recruitment Policies
 Most librarians over 50
 Trouble recruiting to the profession
younger individuals
 Trouble recruiting multi-ethnic
librarian to the profession
 Trouble recruiting men to the
profession
BX Do you employ any librarians who
are from the millennial generation?
If so, what job functions do they
perform at the library?
BX On the average, how old is your
library staff?
M What would make you want to
work in a particular library? Why?
Opportunities for Academic Libraries:
Redesigning Services
Millennial behavior
Library response
Achievement oriented;
belief in merit-based
systems
Library as means to
academic success
Expect instance gratification • Make virtual/physical
library available 24/7
• Reconfigure electronic
information access for ease
of use
Are comfortable with
marketing and branding
techniques
Emphasize brand; present
Millennials with compelling
vision to maintain their
loyalty (Sweeney)
Opportunities for Academic Libraries:
Redesigning Services
Source: Millennial Net Value(s): Disconnects Between Libraries and the
Information Age Mindset
Millennial behavior
Library response
Non-linear thought processes
and highly developed visual
fluency
•Addition of multimedia
information to library
electronic holdings
•Emphasis on information
literacy
Communicate through social
networks; consume and
create user-generated
content
•Use of blogs/wikis/social
tagging
•Encourage development of
self-learning tools
Collaborative/comfortable
working in teams
•Integrate library into course
management system
Opportunities for Academic Libraries: Redesigning
Library Spaces
Source: The Myth about Students
Traditional design
Reconfigured space
Form follows function
Spaces for active and
collaborative learning
Buildings of collection
Focus on library as place
Rigid design
Maximum flexibility:
information commons,
multimedia production
areas, small-group
workspaces
Examples of Change: Portable
Devices
 MobilLIB: North Carolina State
University
 The Mobile Computing Project at Ball
State University
North Carolina State MobilLIB
Project
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MobiLIB will allow users access to predominantly libraryoriented services through cell phones, personal digital
assistants (PDAs) and other mobile, web-enabled devices.
Given the increasing availability of such devices and their
growing usage among the libraries' user population, this
service will make a selection of services available that are
assumed to be most useful to the users of mobile devices.
MobiLIB will both link to already existing information
providers (such as an external site indicating the current
location of the university's WolfLine buses) and create
greatly simplified interfaces to services such as the libraries'
online catalog, opening hours listings, the computer
availability map or a campus directory. Based on user
reactions and feedback, other services can be added in the
future.
Ball State Mobile Computing Project
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Reference Links
CardCat Mobile
Mobile Journals
Videos
Collections
Services
Information
 About • Mail Us • Site Search
Examples of Change: Social
Networks
 IOWA State Experiment
 Course management systems,
Distance education, Information
commons, Learning communities in
Facebook
 Library blogging at Eastern
Connecticut State University
Iowa State Experiment
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We believe that social networking sites such as Facebook
are excellent environments to foster and facilitate contact
and communication among members of a local community.
We also believe that as a structured, yet open,
communication venue within an educational community,
Facebook can also serve a place and space in which library
and librarian services can be more actively and visibly
promoted.
During the Summer 2007 semester, we will undertake a
series of outreach initiatives using Facebook. We will
contact select members of the university Facebook
community to inform each of the availability of core services
offered by the reference and instruction department (e.g.,
book and journal selection, library presentations, research
assistance) as well as general library services (e.g.,
interlibrary loan, library collections, reserve and media
services).
The Plagiarism Blog
Keeping Current on Plagiarism, Cheating &
Academic Integrity
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AP Wire | 04/11/2006 | Student accused of plagiarizing film reviews
Student accused of plagiarizing film reviews
Apr. 11, 2006
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
"Officials at the University of Missouri-Kansas City are investigating a
former writer for the school's student-run newspaper after he was accused
of plagiarism."
posted by Susan | Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Plagiarism persists in classrooms
By Kate York
The Marietta Times
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
"As local educators use new techniques to spot plagiarism, a case at Ohio
University shows that the Internet isn’t the only way today’s students are
passing off the work of others as their own."
posted by Susan | Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Example of Change: Student
Portals
 University of California, Irvine
Experiment
 General library information channel in
student portal (hours, maps, policies,
job openings)
 Search box for catalog, library
website, contact a librarian, account
status
 Portal caches log-in after first time
Examples of Change: Nomadic
Computing
 Mount Sinai Hospital Experiment
 Library offers databases available to
doctors through palm pilots and other
devices
Mount Sinai Hospital
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Download Library Resources to Your PDA
Several of the Levy library's licensed databases provide free downloads for Mount
Sinai PDA users:
Access Medicine - Download pages from Harrison’s, Hurst's the Heart, Williams
Obstetrics, Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine, the Lange Series and more. Save and
download content to your PDA from any content page by clicking the Save for PDA link.
Diagnosaurus, a differential diagnosis tool, is also available for download. Requires
registration and a free Mobipocket Reader download. Click on PDA Downloads to get
started.
eMedicine - Includes expert written topic reviews on a variety of specialties. Download
the complete content for a specialty or select subtopics within a specialty. Your
selections are emailed to you as downloadable files for your PDA. Requires a free
MobiPocket Reader download.
MICROMEDEX - Download mobileMICROMEDEX, which includes drug information as
well as databases on alternative medicine, disease information, and toxicology.
MDConsult - Download POCKET Consult, which includes Mosby's Drug Consult and 20
free medical calculators. You also get medical news, drug updates, and journal
abstracts. An MDConsult personal account registration is required. Click on MY PDA to
get started.
PsychiatryOnline - Download the complete DSM-IV-TR Classification for PDA. You
can also download pages from the the DSM-IV-TR® Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders, the DSM-IV-TR® Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, the Textbook
of Clinical Psychiatry, Essentials of Clinical Psychopharmacology and more. Requires a
free registration and a free Mobipocket Reader download.
Examples of Change: Gaming
 North Carolina State Experiment
 Interactive games with board game
themes to teach information literacy
 Second Life Library 2.0—virtual
reality, avatars, virtual library, online
events
Examples of Change: Embedding
Information Literacy in the Classroom
 Seton Hall Experiment
 Librarians as coach/tutor in Course
Management system
 Redesign of core curriculum to include
information literacy as a “proficiency”
Examples of Change: Library
Redesign
 Oklahoma State University Library
Experiment
 Student Success Center: essential
services on first floor, 24/7 access,
group study and collaborative rooms
 Take a few minutes for discussion.
XB Have you recently redesigned or
restructured the physical space in
your library? If so, how?
M How do you use the library? What
would you like to see different
about the library building or space?
Open Discussion