NCompass Live: Advocates of All Ages
Channel: Nebraska Library Commission
Date: 2019-12-18

Recruiting and Retaining Younger Generations as Trustees and Friends

Recorded on December 18, 2019
NCompass Live - http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ncompasslive/

 Millennials are more likely than other adults to have visited the library recently. However, many friends and trustees boards do not have even a single millennial member (Pew 2016, ALA 2018). What accounts for this discrepancy between the demographics of our library users and library civic leaders, and how do we rectify it? The presenters will argue for the importance of developing generationally representative boards and explore common barriers to service for those under 40. Participants will leave with practical strategies for identifying and recruiting from the Millennial and Gen-Z generations, and for adapting board cultures to engage and retain them.

Presenters:

    David Paige is a library trustee at Conway (NH) Public Library, the president-elect of the American Library Association's United for Libraries division, and the director of Libraries Unlimited publishing.
    Lina Bertinelli is the Workforce Librarian at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD.
    Madeline Jarvis is the Adult and Information Services Manager at the Marion (IA) Public Library and is a 2019 graduate of the Marion Citizens' Fire Academy.
    Kathy Kosinski is the Statewide Library Services Analyst for the Library of Michigan and a member of the Michigan eLibrary team.
    Tess Wilson is the Community Engagement Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region and the Youth Services Division Chair of the Pennsylvania Library Association.