Thursday, February 21, 2008
Libraries try to reach a new generation
The good news for libraries is that Generation Y and Millennials are frequenting libraries in every increasing numbers. The bad news – they aren’t going for the books.
Progressive libraries understand their youngest visitors are more interested in the computers and social capabilities that a library presents. They know that if they keep the young people coming, they will be building on tomorrow like McDonald’s did when they introduced Happy Meals.
To capitalize on and increase the frequency of youthful visits, many libraries are turning to video games. It is becoming common-place for libraries to have competitions for Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. An individual event may attract more than 100 students to the library for an evening of fun and socializing.
The reason these competitions are so successful is cultural:
The good news for libraries is that Generation Y and Millennials are frequenting libraries in every increasing numbers. The bad news – they aren’t going for the books.Progressive libraries understand their youngest visitors are more interested in the computers and social capabilities that a library presents. They know that if they keep the young people coming, they will be building on tomorrow like McDonald’s did when they introduced Happy Meals.
To capitalize on and increase the frequency of youthful visits, many libraries are turning to video games. It is becoming common-place for libraries to have competitions for Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. An individual event may attract more than 100 students to the library for an evening of fun and socializing.
The reason these competitions are so successful is cultural:
- Socializing: Gen Y and Millennials both are extremely social generations. This can be credited to rearranging elementary schoolrooms to a study group or pod design, which promotes teamwork.
- Parental Comfort: Generation X, which parents Gen Y, and parents in Gen Y that parented Millennials, both are easy to sell when their children ask to spend an evening at the library. In many cases, permission is given only if the child agrees to check out a book.
- Literary: Okay, the literary culture has to deal with breaking the tradition of “quiet” at a library, however they are smart enough to know that libraries cannot survive if they cannot get people through the front door. Taxpayers must have a reason to vote “yes” when library funding is on the ballot and having activity of any type seems to decrease any voter hesitancy at passing dollars into library coffers.
Labels: Gen-X, Gen-Y, Generation, Millennial
¶ 2/21/2008
