The Generation X Librarian

Generation X includes individuals born roughly between 1961 and 1981. This generation has faced major advances in technology, environmental degradation, and widening economic injustice, all of which affect libraries and librarians. This collection of critical essays highlights the special challenges that face Generation X librarians. Topics covered include management and leadership, rapidly changing technology, social attitudes and stereotypes within popular culture, and how Generation X librarians have responded to or developed in response to those themes. This work fills many of the gaps present in the professional literature on librarianship and our younger generations.

Martin K. Wallace is a librarian at the University of Texas Arlington Central Library. He lives in Arlington, Texas.
Rebecca Tolley-Stokes is an associate professor and librarian at East Tennessee State University. She lives in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Erik Sean Estep of Evansville, Indiana, is a librarian at East Carolina University.

Edited by Martin K. Wallace, Rebecca Tolley-Stokes and Erik Sean Estep
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 224
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6309-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8611-3
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Acknowledgments      3

Introduction      5

SECTION ONE : GETTING TO KNOW US

From Paper to Pixels: Generation X as Digital Librarian

Emily Symonds      11

Understanding Gen X at Work: Securing the Library’s Future

Christy Groves and William Black      18

Generation X Librarians, Faculty and the Rise of Information Literacy

Leslie Porter Mathews and Sergio Rizzo      29

X Marks the Spot

Rebecca Feind      44

Stuck in the Middle with You: Generation X Librarians

Lisa Carlucci Thomas and Karen Sobel      49

SECTION TWO : LEADERSHIP

Managing Millennials: Advantages of Generation X Librarian Approaches

Breanne Kirsch and Jonathan Kirsch      61

Generation X Mentoring Millennials

Kathy Shields and Lynda Kellam      72

Gen X Takes Over: Managing the Mix from the Middle

Lindsay McVey      81

Leading the Way into the Future of Libraries

Jessica Clemons      91

A Finger in the Pie: A Look at How Multiple Careers Benefit the Library Professional

Dawn Lowe-Wincentsen      99

SECTION THREE : TECHNOLOGY

Twitter My Glitter: A Dialogue on the Technological Expectations of Library Users

Rachel Williams and Jennifer Cromer      109

The Transitioning Library Collection: Is the Gen X Librarian the Right Librarian at the Right Time?

Wil Weston      118

Hackers vs. Librarians: Some Thoughts on the Privilege of 2.0 Thinking

Jessamyn West      126

SECTION FOUR : POP CULTURE

Watchers, Punks and Dashing Heroes: Representations of Male Librarians in Generation X Mass Culture

Rafia Mirza and Maura Seale      135

Pinko vs. Punk: A Generational Comparison of Alternative Press Publications and Zines

Jenna Freedman      147

SECTION FIVE : SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Remaining Responsible, Remaining Relevant: Gen X Librarians and Social Responsibility

Peter Lehu      163

Skeptic/Activist: Gen Xers in Radical Reference

Melissa Morrone      176

The Thin Red Line: How Gen X Librarians Make It Thicker (Views from Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Mario Hibert and Saša Madacki      190

About the Contributors      207

Index      211

“provides an insightful glimpse into the varied and diverse backgrounds of the Gen X Librarian. A valuable practical aid for any librarian. This is one book that you will want to read, keep, and re-read”—Against the Grain.