Digital Native or Digital Immigrant
March 2006: Compiled and annotated by Marianne Steadley
Exploring Ways to Bridge the Generational Divide in the Library
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Understanding the Millennials
Information Seeking Behavior of Gen Y Students
Generation Y and the Academic Library
Net Generation and Libraries
Reinventing Library Buildings and Services for Millennials
In Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584-2069, authors William Strauss
and Neil Howe,
identify and name
American generations starting with the Puritan in
1584, through others such as the Awakening, Progressive, Silent, GI, and Boomers,
to
the current Millennial generation. Millennials, also known as Generation Y, the Net
Generation, the Digital Generation, the Echo Boom generation were born during the
period of about 1980 - 2001 and are in our schools, universities, and recently have
entered adulthood. And while only the youngest of this Millennial generation,
sometimes
known as Generation Z, have been surrounded by digital technology from infancy,
the
others have grown up and have extensive experience with the web and other
technologies. These "digital natives" often pose a challenge to librarians, many of
whom
are Boomers or Generation X and are "digital immigrants.
The first two articles highlighted in this issue address how Millennials go through the
research and information seeking processes in, and more importantly, out of the
physical
library. The next four articles deliver suggestions on ways libraries can meet the
information needs of this networked, interactive, multimedia oriented culture. While
these articles discuss serving students in academic libraries, they are also applicable
to
school, special and public libraries working with this generation of tech savvy,
mobile, multitasking individuals. -- the Editors
1. Understanding the Millennials
Holliday, Wendy and Qin Li. "Understanding the Millennials: Updating our Knowledge
about Students." Reference Services Review, v.32, no.4 (2004): 346-366.
Kuhlthau's Information Search Process (ISP) model, developed in 1991, describes six
stages that students go through in the research process: (1) initiation; (2) topic
selection; (3) pre-focus exploration; (4) focus formulation; (5) information
collection; and (6) search closure/presentation. At each stage, individuals encounter
different feelings, usually starting with uncertainly and anxiety changing to greater
confidence, relief and satisfaction.
In 2003 Holliday and Li conducted a study to determine whether the ISP model held
up for a new generation of students, the Millennials, who have extensive experience
with the web and technology. The study questioned whether the students' thoughts,
feelings, and actions during the research process changed because of their
experience with the web. The study also sought to determine the impact of a new
research environment with easy access to seemingly limitless information resources.
While the findings are still preliminary, the study suggests that easy access to
information
via the web has changed students' models of the information environment and
expectations of the research process.
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Millennials expect research to be easy and feel they can be independent in the
process.
They do not seek help from librarians and only occasionally from professors or
peers.
When they can't find what they need, they give up and assume that the
information
cannot be found. This leads to a new feeling of frustration in the ISP model.
Some students skip steps in the process, especially focus formulation.
Students often stop
after their initial searches thinking they have completed the research process
and fail to
choose a particular focus.
Access to full text articles seems to have changed students' cognitive
behavior. Instead of
having to read through material at the library, they can now download
material at their
desks. They do not have to take notes or read through them to develop
themes and ideas,
an activity central to a focused research project. Electronic articles enable
cutting and
pasting, possibly leading to increased plagiarism.
The study concludes that the ISP remains a useful prescriptive model to help guide
students through the research process. The model might become even more
important in information literacy instruction by providing scaffolding that gets
students to look beyond their first hits of a Google search.
2. Information Seeking Behavior of Gen Y Students
Weller, Angela. "Information Seeking Behavior in Generation Y Students: Motivation,
Critical Thinking, and Learning Theory." Journal of Academic Librarianship v. 31, no.
1 (January 2005): 46-53.
Weller explores research in information-seeking behavior, motivation, critical
thinking, and learning theory to search for possible motivating factors for Gen Y's
reliance, not on books, but on television and the Internet for their information needs.
The author considers a focus group study conducted by the University of Idaho
Library that examined "general information seeking" behavior of undergraduate
students rather than highly specific areas of study or resources.
The study showed that:
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Students often cited human beings as sources of information. They preferred
to discuss information needs with a real person rather than find out what they
needed on their own. The highest criteria on the students' list of needs when
seeking information were ease of use, reliability, accuracy, currency,
availability, and cost. Of secondary importance were trust, quality, credibility,
validity, completeness, and comprehensiveness.
The most cited obstacles to obtaining information were "infoglut" and
questionable validity.
In rating information-seeking experiences, how much time was spent looking
for information was of primary importance, and students often accepted
inappropriate information or lower quality information if it took less time.
Conclusions:
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Issues of time and levels of difficulty in obtaining information are usually of
more concern to students than issues of accuracy.
Generation Y students are primarily visual learners, a style which is often in
conflict with the habits of many instructors.
Hands-on activities should be directly related to a specific task that the
student perceives as necessary.
Students are concerned about saving time, so pointing out the timesaving
aspects of using the library's web site or of good searching techniques may
help reach students.
3. Generation Y and the Academic Library
Gardner, Susan and Susanna Eng. "What Students Want: Generation Y and the
Changing
Function of the Academic Library." portal: Libraries and the Academy v.5, no.3
(2005):
405-420.
Librarians at the Thomas and Dorothy Seavey Library at the University of Southern
California conducted a survey of Generation Y students to evaluate the impact of four
characteristics ascribed to this generation on library services. Generation Y students:
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Have great expectations.
Expect customization.
Are technology veterans.
Utilize new communications.
Generation Y students demand quality academic facilities and high academic
achievement of themselves. The survey found that the top three reasons to visit the
library were all related to academic achievement: (1) study alone; (2) use a
computer for class work; and (3) study with a group.
Generations Y students expect services will be available 24/7 in a variety of modes.
They prefer doing research online and expect customization of technology and
research to support their needs. They don't see the Internet and technology as tools
but as integral parts of their lives. Research is done with an ATM attitude - fast and
easy. Assignments are often group based and Generation Y students use a variety of
communication tools to support group learning.
Implications for library services
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Gen Y students look to their peers for help more than authority figures
suggesting a tiered approach to reference with well-trained student workers
backed up by reference librarians.
Higher education has shifted its curriculum toward more collaboration and
group projects generating a need for interactive group space as well as for
enclosed single user rooms in the library.
Many students perceive their learning as mobile and use the library remotely
so libraries need an infrastructure to support remote usage of their resources,
including email and chat reference service. Libraries can also provide mobile
services by implementing a program to bring "roving" librarians to spaces
they are not usually found, such as the student union building.
Research now involves technology, so a combined reference desk and
technology service point in one area offers opportunities to bring students
closer to the reference desk and librarians.
Wireless networks will enable student laptops to access library tools from
anywhere on campus.
Students expect one-stop shopping when it comes to research, which can be
partially addressed through the use of library portals or single interfaces
providing access to library catalogs, online reference material, e-journals and
teaching materials.
4. Net Generation and Libraries
Lippincott, Joan R. "Net Generation Students and Libraries." Educating the Net
Generation. Eds. Diane Oblinger and James l. Oblinger, Boulder, CO: Educause,
2005.
http://www.educause.edu/EducatingtheNetGeneration/5989
Libraries can remain a vital part of campus life if they are designed with a real
understanding of the needs of Net Gen students. Unfortunately, there are some
major
disconnects between students and many of today's academic libraries. Students
often turn
to Google or another search engine because they find library-sponsored resources
too
difficult to figure out on their own, and they are seldom exposed to or interested in
formal
instruction in information literacy. Another disconnect is that library services and
digital
resources are presented in the library organization context rather than in a usercentered
mode, such as within a course management system (CMS). Libraries can improve
access and services by paying attention to the style of Net Gen Students.
Successful Net Gen access services will:
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Integrate library information into Google Scholar or other popular search
engines so that information from peer-reviewed publications can be accessed
easily.
Integrate more multimedia resources into their searchable content and
incorporate "open" web resources into their catalogs.
Include subject pathfinders in the CMS to bring information to the place
where students will be actively engaged in academic work.
Offer simplified and graphic ways for students to approach discipline
searches.
Successful Net Gen information services will:
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Use students on teams that design new services for both the virtual and
physical environments. Making use of the skills and perspectives of Net Gen
students will help to ensure that new services will be responsive to their
needs and styles.
Represent services and instruction visually and in multimedia modes.
Interactive Web sites that offer visual representations will appeal to Net Gen
students.
Integrate information literacy instruction into the curriculum and information
services into the CMS.
Explore services for mobile devices such as cell phones.
Emphasize information policy issues such as intellectual property and privacy.
Successful Net Gen environments will:
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Provide individual and group learning spaces in the library equipped with
computing resources where academic work can be carried out in a social
context.
Promote community by providing comfortable spaces for informal gatherings.
Offer joint support to users from both the library and IT units.
Integrate physical spaces and services with virtual spaces and services.
Effectively market to all groups of users bearing in mind Net Gen's visual
style.
5. Reinventing Library Buildings and Services for
Millennials
Sweeney, Richard T. "Reinventing Library Buildings and Services for the Millennial
Generation." Library Administration and Management v.19, no. 4 (2005): 165-75.
Millennials are the second largest generation in U.S history, second only to the Baby
Boomers and far larger than Generation X, which directly preceded them. Millennials
have such vastly different needs and expectations than Boomers, that librarians are
being
forced to rethink and redesign library services to remain relevant. While technology,
librarian expectations, library buildings and traditional library services are important
in
shaping the library, it is the Millennials (user) expectations and demands that will
determine what will flourish and what will flounder.
Millennial expectations, behaviors, values, and characteristics reflect a networked,
interactive, multimedia oriented culture, which should be considered by library
planners.
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LIBRARY LESSON: As consumers in the library, Millennials expect to choose
from many alternatives and have the ability to customize and personalize.
Libraries need to have a wide selection of choices if they are to appeal to the
varied interests of Millennials.
The Millennial generation values education and training, expects more balance
between work and personal lives, and believes in merit-based systems. They expect
to be rewarded for their work and don't have much sympathy for decisions that are
based on seniority. Millennials in the workforce will be more challenging to train than
Boomers or Gen Xers.
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LIBRARY LESSON: Librarians will need to show Millennials how library work
can be flexible, innovative, and intellectually compelling, and that they will
learn important skills they can use in a number of jobs.
Millennials have also been raised on immediate gratification and expect instant
access with immediate feedback. They want as many services as possible to be
available online anytime they choose.
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LIBRARY LESSON: Successful library hours and service availability must be
based on Millennial needs, not the convenience of the library staff. Services
such as access to remote online journals, databases, e-books, and reference
assistance will need to be provided.
About a fifth of this generation is the offspring of immigrants who arrived in the U.S.
during the 1980's. Millennials are a diverse group, more tolerant than previous
generations.
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LIBRARY LESSON: Librarians will need to market libraries to those who speak
foreign languages, who have different cultural interests, and who have not
traditionally used the library.
Millennials are digital natives, born into an era in which digitally produced resources
and services are common. For them, digital networked services are preferred as the
information service delivery mechanism and more important than the physical
library. Many librarians and library administrators are digital immigrants who learned
to use digital services later in life. ?
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LIBRARY LESSON: Librarians must merge all library services digitally to meet
the information and communication expectations of the Millennial generation.
Physical and virtual libraries must be inseparable.
Millennials are heavy technology users, with much experience in gaming and
communications using every available electronic device or channel.
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LIBRARY LESSON: Librarians and vendors will need to build gaming
characteristics into their systems to be successful with Millennials.
Millennials expect their technology to be mobile and to have access anywhere and
anytime. They expect technology to offer one stop shopping for all their technology
and information needs. Today most library catalogs can't be searched from a mobile
device.
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LIBRARY LESSON: Libraries should make their library catalog and database
offerings available on portable devices as soon as possible.
The strengths and preferences of the Millennial generation include multitasking, goal
orientation, positive attitudes, and a collaborative style of searching, learning, and
working.
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LIBRARY LESSON: Libraries need to promote the development of effective
collaborative technology to speed up and improve searching as well as
learning.
Millennials prefer experiential, constructivist learning through trial and error, rather
than through formal learning or reading. The evidence is that Millennials are reading
far less than other generations.
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LIBRARY LESSON: Accelerated learning and increased learning productivity
are the next Millennial library frontiers, with a focus on learning rather than
teaching. Libraries must respond to the Millennial need for audio and visual
media and monitor their reading to determine what mix will of media will
work.
To remain relevant, library decision makers need to reinvent libraries for this new
generation. Steps to accomplish this reinvention include:
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Maintain and organize digital institutional, community, and professional
repositories.
Continue to play an important role in helping and stimulating people to find
and learn authentic new knowledge.
Make local and published information searchable through Google and other
Millennial tools and information sources.
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Accelerate Millennial self-learning and make learning easier and more
productive. Present Millennials with a compelling vision to maintain their
loyalty to the library.
Reinvent physical libraries with hours of service more desirable to Millennials.
Provide many different types of library spaces carefully planned and marketed
to Millennials to support quiet work, group work, gaming, socializing, etc.
Provide a wider selection of books, DVDs and other physical documents
specifically marketed to Millennials.
Use information and communication technologies to promote library services
and provide services to support multitasking and collaboration.
Appoint adult Millennials into decision-making and advisory positions as early
as possible to capture their energy, ideas, and interests.
Rethink and modify structures and policies designed mostly for delivery of
physical documents to current users in traditional ways and reinvent them in
terms of digital library environments serving Millennials.