Thank you, Meredith.

Sorry I am so late on this discussion… As someone who has studied the “generational” differences (and similarities!) among librarians and end-users, I wasn’t offended at all by the language in your article and actually felt it to be gently inclusive of any member of any generation grappling with balancing/learning/joining these tech experiences. Further, I was just glad to see you bringing the wisdoms to AL. I look forward to more…. to be sure!

I encounter a LOT of stereotypical language in my travels and didn’t see that as your intent here in the least. I DO meet Boomers (more on the user side than practitioner, since let’s not forget the Baby Boomers started us out on this journey in the first place!) who are intimidated or nervous and I think it behooves us to keep that reality in our mind so we can temper our exuberance to fit our audience. This is something I must learn…. just ask my parents, aunts, and uncles! Not to mention coworkers!

Let’s face it…. this stuff CAN be intimidating and many of us are nervous for good reason. There was a time when pressing a single button accidentally could really screw things up. These days are LONG gone, yes????

I doubt that “copping out” about technology is the real problem. As Sarah mentions above, I think the apprehensions that some library staff have about technology are similar to those held by folks in the humanities. They might have good imaginations, but many of them might have an experiential or “visionary” gap in understanding how they might find innovation (in the technological sense) helpful.

Of course, in advocating the use of such innovation, I would steer clear of calling it that. As I mention with library staff above, I would discuss innovation within a context that one’s fellow humanities folks would understand. Only then might they “see the light” and develop a desire to learn about technological innovations, so that they can set their imaginations free.

(If you decide to become a librarian, Jandy, perhaps this topic could become your forte.)

I think it’s time to start shopping your resume around. If you’re in a place THAT change averse, they may be beyond help.

Jandy,

As a tech librarian AND humanities geek–A-MEN! The gap is not only one of generational experiences, but of people who entered the profession due to a love of books who are now afraid that this technology is going to change the aspects of librarianship that brought them here in the first place. I know that’s hogwash, you know that’s hogwash, but how do we show them that it’s hogwash without intimidating them? or scaring them? All of this resistence is ultimately rooted in fear.

(Oh yeah, Meredith, loved the article–you’re off with a bang, and I’m not surprised!)

You mentioned a colleague talking about the problems her parents had in getting Cabbage Patch Kids back in 1983. Then you mentioned remembering “that” yourself. But, in reality, those are two entirely different (no better, no worse) experiences. People your age and younger (like my own kids) either remember being excited about getting their CPK or being disappointed at not getting one. But it is us parents who remember the nightmare of trying to make our children happy with something that was in very limited supply, and knowing that our children would not understand the law of supply and demand. As an aside, for those parents who remember this, if you think you had problems, you should’ve tried being stationed outside the US and trying to get them for your children! Anyway, two different experiences around the same concept.

As for the whole digital immigrant/digital native labels–and thank you for not using them–I am offended by them as generally used. Again, from my own family’s experience … I am the one who was the digital native, long before my children were. I was programming computers in finite math in high school several years before I even had children. When we got a computer, it was mainly for me with some hopes that the kids could use it for educational purposes. But it was hard to find things they actually wanted to use it for. We lived overseas a lot so we didn’t have any full-time online stuff until 1996 and very, very limited online before that at by-the-minute German phone rates. Even in 1996 in Texas we only had dial-up, and only one car, so we tried hard to keep the kids off of it for practical reasons. My point, if anyone in my family is the digital native it is me. The Baby Boomer.

The way I see it, the so-called Millennials and others near them are more digital invaders–perhaps the equivalent of digital Visigoths. Now I know that doesn’t hold true for lots of folks. Just sayin’. The whole presumption that it is the younger folks who grew up with this “toys” or tools is presumptuous. I don’t think I’ve yet seen a study on these issues with a statistically valid sample.

Nice job with this post and your article. Lots of good comments, too. It does my heart no end of good to see you questioning so many things that are taken for granted.

For anyone who doesn’t understand my style, my comments are in no way meant to dispute anything Meredith said here. I am only attempting to add even more nuance, and to support what she has said here.

Amen to your last paragraph, although I’m kind of squeamish with the “change-oriented.” Not sure what is better though. I’m not change-oriented, but I accept and even embrace it when it is needed and proper. Otherwise, change be d-ed.

So, I think one has to be extra careful when making what should be a general harmless statement using a generational label and a comparison on which generation might have an advatage, because it can be used in a harmful way. Then again, so can so many stats in so many articles on so many topics.

Sounds over-PC, I know.

I’m glad to know that I’m not a voice crying in the desert. I think the problem is that I’ve heard enough hardcore technophiles tell librarians that they need to “get with it” about technology, or else. (Maybe they intend such messages for library directors, but others who work in libraries read and hear that stuff as well.) If library staff hear such messages frequently enough, some of them might feel a sense of hopelessness if their institutions do not take active steps to encourage them to “play with” technology, or if they see coming technologies as “the next big thing” that will make their jobs obsolete. Under such circumstances, it’s easy to see how some staff take extremist positions in bashing technology.

I am glad to hear that some libraries do take an active role in getting their staff acquainted with new technologies. It would be interesting to learn more about the institutional cultures, and what has been effective.

Hmmm… looking at my posting above, I think I see another problem that might spook people about technology: when the danged HTML code for lists doesn’t work…

That’s why I think more libraries need to do what the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County did with first doing a comprehensive program to teach basic tech competencies (without judgment) and then teaching them about more “bleeding edge” technologies in a fun and community-oriented online environment in Learning 2.0.

Making learning about technology fun and an integral part of work (rather than something they need to do on their own) is what is needed. I couldn’t agree more.