New Online Forum for Young Librarians

Print |

Reprint/License |

Subscription |

RSS |

Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 06/01/2003

Comment
on this article

Young librarians, look no further. There's finally an online discussion group specifically for librarians 30 and under. Created May 9 by Christine Borne, a teen services librarian at Shaker Heights (OH) Public Library, NEXGENLIB-L is the first global online forum geared toward this age group. Inspired by School Library Journal's May cover story about recruiting the next generation of librarians (see "The Only Young School Librarian?" pp. 52–55), Borne wanted a support group for librarians her age and took matters into her own hands.

"There's been a lot of talk about the future of librarianship, the aging of the profession, and what will happen when the present librarians retire," says Borne, 25, who received an MLS from Kent State University in 2002. "There's worry about where young librarians will come from, but we're out there, and we needed a place of our own to talk to each other, and discuss our professional goals, and what we can offer the profession."

The discussion group (topica.com/lists/nexgenlib-l) is open to all librarians—school, public, university, corporate, and medical—and also welcomes advice from older colleagues. So far, there have been 130 subscribers and hot topics have ranged from combating librarian stereotypes, the future of the profession, and even how to handle patrons who flirt with young, pretty librarians.