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Best young professionals 2
Edited by Elk Greifeneder
Introduction
"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter". Mark Twain's often repeated quote might aid in helping librarians position themselves to understand and better serve the Baby Boom generation within the USA public library system. Advancing age is an inevitable biological phenomenon largely dreaded in American society. As such, it is often the topic of jokes, negative connotations, and, not surprisingly, undeserved stereotypes of the aging population. The first wave of the Baby Boom generation, defined as those Americans born between 1946-1964, will turn 65 in the year 2011. The 76 million members of this age group are not homogenous in their physical or intellectual capacity, experience, education, or interests ([3] Bundy, 2005). The Baby Boomers are celebrated for their many contributions to change; revisions to gender roles, the political system, and even to what it means to be a citizen of America. This spirit of change echoes in their selection of words for describing the aging process. Many Baby Boomers reject the terms, "senior", "elderly", "aged", and "old" ([10] Kahlert, 2000). To avoid gerontological stereotyping in this paper via word choice, the more socially acceptable term "older adults", which is widely preferred by the Baby Boomers, will be used in place of these more negatively connoted terms.
Given these demographics, it is clear that a very large, diverse, and outspoken sector of the population is about to grow older and enter the public library. Are public libraries in the USA ready to accommodate their changing needs? The number of Baby Boomers, soon to be in the older adult category, will be unprecedented. Never before has there been such a sharp increase in the number of older adults. In addition, this group of users will have particular needs of their public libraries. This paper explores what the Baby Boom generation will require of the USA public library system by focusing on three specific, albeit interrelated, categories: social needs, programming needs, and technological needs, and offers methods for keeping these vital members of society engaged with their public libraries.
Social needs
Baby Boomers mainly use public libraries for recreation and leisure. Consequently, it is reasonable to assume that they are...