Friday, November 17, 2017

A discussion of generations, libraries, and pride.

I'm in the process of doing my family tree, which is probably why I'm thinking about generations a lot lately. How are generations determined? Who determines them? What defines them? Who determines what defines them, and how is that determined? Why don't we know anything about any generations before Baby Boomers? I decided to dig a bit to learn more.

There are all sorts of conflicting definitions of which generations were born when, but NPR defines them like this:

  • GI Generation - Born 1901-1924 (THREE OF MY GRANDPARENTS)
  • Silent Generation - Both 1925-1942 (ONE GRANDPARENT)
  • Baby Boomers - Born 1943-1964 (MY PARENTS)
  • Generation X - Born 1965-1979 (ME)
  • Millennials - Born 1980-2000
  • Generation Z - Born 2001-Present (MY KIDS)
I'm a member of Generation X (GenX). I was born in 1979 and I always felt like I was the freshman of my GenX peers. I love NPR's definition of GenX, which I've never seen until now:
[GenXers] were originally called the baby busters because fertility rates fell after the boomers. As teenagers, they experienced the AIDs epidemic and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Sometimes called the MTV Generation, the "X" in their name refers to this generation's desire not to be defined.

I like this definition much better than the one I heard about being called "Generation X" because we had nothing specific that would define us as a group. It's also much better than the definition a Baby Boomer once gave me when I was a teen: "Your generation is called Generation X because you have no ambition and no future." Needless to say, I didn't spend anymore time listening to whatever else that asshole had to say.

Sadly, GenXers are not known for their patronage of libraries. In fact, only 45% of GenXers and 43% of Baby Boomers visited a library in the past year. Maybe it's because I'm a GenXer and I don't want to be defined by numbers or labels, but 45%, seriously? Come on, people. Get it together. This is a matter of pride, which we certainly do not lack.

Thankfully, my mother was an exception to her own Baby Boomer generation and went to the library as often as most people get gas or go to the grocery store. Even now, she spends one day a week volunteering, helping to build programs at the public library in her new hometown of Crossville, Tennessee.

It's ironic: The defining GenX movie The Breakfast Club was set in a library, and the only reason those kids
were there was because they had detention.
But there is hope: Millennials seem to be turning the tide. Numbers published by The Pew Research Center showed that 53% of Millennials visited a public library or a bookmobile in person in the last year. And that data doesn't include university or college libraries - it's public libraries only. Nobody seems to like Millennials; they're criticized for being narcissistic and entitled, but at least they go to the library.

In a CNN article detailing the report's findings, journalist Jessica Suerth wrote that technology within libraries has a lot to do with the upsurge in their usage. Among other things she names digital loans, free internet access, 3D printers, and online account access as reasons the libraries draw more Millennials. American libraries' hard work in continuing to innovate has paid off. In my opinion, that's pretty great.

In a year when everyone seems weighed down by negativity, I thought I'd take a moment to offer some good news. Everything doesn't completely suck. Millennials go to the library.

If you're a GenXer or a Baby Boomer, maybe you should shoot over to your local library and check it out. Chances are, things have changed quite a bit and you might not even recognize it.

📖 📖 📖

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