Marshall Breeding

took a poll and more people in the room were gen xers, followed by boomers
what makes millennials tick is different than what makes boomers tick - they're different
- innate ability for technology
- frenetic multitasking
- comfortable with diverse types of digital media; books are great but youtube videos are even better
- highly interactive style of working; don't have to force them to do group projects; they're built-in to collaboration

contrasts in generations
- millennials are accustomed to receiving information quickly and from multiple sources in real time and processing it immediately, as opposed to boomers who take time to digest it
- parallel processing and multitasking vs. like to proceed step-by-step and do tasks in order
- prefer to interact with peers vs. like the role of listener or viewer
- tend to be more visual and kinesthetic learners vs. tend to be more text-based learners who are careful observers

53% of children do something else while studying (half that for adults)

shaping collections for millennial users:
content - digital/immediate
discovery - more like the web
access - anytime/anywhere

they don't pay attention to library hours
born night owls

satisfying millennial users does not conflict with needs of library users from previous generations
very much in tune with the strategic directions most libraries have toward more digital, more immediacy of access, high quality service
it's a matter of degree

changes that make things faster and better would be accepted by all users

boomers and gen xers are happier with traditional forms of content and existing modes of service
millennials will move on to non-library provided information sources and services if not readily satisfied
this isa lot at stake for the future of libraries in adapting to generational transitions

key characteristic for this generation is comfort with working with digital media
prefer graphics over text
audio (music) and video
love to remix; usually recreational, but explore ways to tap this interest with an academic slant

library collection possibilities:
- ejournals, ebooks
- podcasts of lectures
- video libraries of stock footage
- news archives
- data sets: census, GIS

question of how best to provide access to the collections we are building
how to respond to their preferences:
- immediate
- collaborative
- intuitive
- mobile
- flexible

heightened user expectations
- come in with expectations set by their experiences on the web
- conventions for navigating and exploring web-based resources well established
- dealing with learge and complex bodies of information nothing new to incoming library users
- sophisticated web skills
- low tolerance for clunky and ineffective websites
- confident in their ability - reluctant to ask for help

in libraries, our online resources don't meet their expectations, too many different interfaces, overly complex, not intuitive, have to go to different places for different formats
highly disintegrated, non-seamless environment; are millennials going to have the patience for this

metasearch isn't the answer because not immediate, shallow results sets, relevancy ranking is difficult, etc.

change is underway:
widespread dissatisfaction with OPACs
movement to break out of the current mold of catalogs and offer new interfaces
decoupling of the front-end from the back-end

web 2.0 is a good start
- more social and collaborative approach
- web tools and technology that foster collaboration
- blogs, wikis, tagging, social bookmarking, user rating, user reviews
= cream on top; need to get deeper to resolve the problems

web 2.0 supporting technologies:
- web services
- XML APIs
- AJAX
- microformats
- opensearch vs SRU/SRW
will be more relevant if we use what the rest of the world is using

replacement OPACs:
- Endeca
- AquaBrowser
common threads are:
- decoupled interface
- mass export of catalog data
- alternative search engine
- alternative interface

expanded discovery and delivery tools:
- ex libris primo
- encore (innovative)
common threads are:
- decoupled interface
- comprehensive indexes that span multiple and diverse information resources
- alternative interface

extensible catalog funded by Mellon Foundation - http://www.extensiblecatalog.info/

the catalog should give equal weight and access to print and digital; can't just slap one onto an interface built for the other

users no longer have to craft a complex search at the beginning
better to drill down through a result set incrementally narrowing the field
faceted browsing

assume your users are starting elsewhere
view the library as a search destination
expose library content and services through nonlibrary interfaces
global arena excels at discovery, while local arena focuses on content delivery
all the global content discovery tools point to locally managed content

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