ILA

I've just returned from the Iowa Library Association annual conference. I enjoyed it, most of it. Lots of notes to share with others, and even more for my own personal pondering.

One moment will stick with me for awhile. I went to a session on understanding the Millennial generation. They don't like to stand in line. They are not brand loyal, and they have no particular music genre. Because they can get it all--on the Internet. They text constantly, email has fallen by the wayside. The environment is important. They expect results quickly. Etc, etc.

So, a fellow librarian asked the question "What do we do about these Millennials who have such a sense of entitlement, and show us no respect? I've paid my dues, they haven't, and they need to quit being so demanding." I suspect she ignored everything said in the entire session.

You know how you always think of the perfect comeback too late? I was busy feeling embarrassed for my profession, because there were Millennials in the room, but later it occurred to me that I could have responded with "When we--the public library--give them what they are entitled to, they may give us some respect." We're getting better, but we're not famous for the stuff Millennials are looking for. Want a best seller? Get in line. We'll reserve it, or get it on ILL. It will only take a few weeks. Want an answer to your reference question? Sure, but no, you can't text me, and I'm certainly not able to text you. Need me during the hours you're likely to have free time? Probably not there, sorry. But you can download a few audiobooks. Need that video for a month, because you just haven't had time? Too bad--try NetFlix, they'll let you have it your way.

There was that scare awhile back about the Internet making libraries obsolete. The Internet won't make libraries obsolete. We'll do it to ourselves.