Enough with the Avocado Toast, Already

Every generation feels misunderstood by the generation that came before them. It’s basically a rite of passage to listen to stories about how much harder each older generation had it than the one that followed. This is evident today in the way millennials are perceived by some Generation Xers and baby boomers: mindless robots, addicted to smartphones and other forms of technology, and unwilling to settle down and purchase homes because they’re too busy wasting money on gadgets and pricey brunch food.

The reality is that millennials, especially older millennials (the Oregon Trail generation) are aging into middle adulthood and entering leadership roles at a rapid pace. Ashley Krenelka Chase, Associate Director of the law library at Stetson University, noticed that the way millennials use libraries and the fact they’re joining the librarian workforce were frequently discussed, but that there was almost no literature about millennials in library leadership roles. She’s already changed that with the publication of her new book, Millennial Leadership in Libraries. The book has been well-received and was presented to a standing-room-only crowd in the Hein Booth at the 2018 American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting & Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Millennial Leadership in Libraries is composed of chapters written by thirty librarian contributors of several generations and from different types of libraries. Many of these authors have also written journal articles on the topic of millennial leadership and other related subjects.

Scholarly Articles Go Well with Complicated Coffee Orders

Millennials are also known for their consumption of coffee, particularly in settings outside the home. The popularity of the Starbucks coffee chain exploded in the late 1990s as the Oregon Trail Generation came of age. In 1991 there were 116 stores nationwide, and by 2005 there were more than 10,000 Starbucks locations. And it’s no wonder they consume more caffeine: statistically, millennials work more and earn less than their baby boomer counterparts did at the same life stage.

Nothing beats catching up on scholarly reading with the smell of coffee in the air and a hipster-friendly soundtrack playing in the background. Check out the work of some of the Millennial Leadership chapter authors in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. For a full list of authors, download a PDF of the book’s brochure.

Ashley Krenelka Chase

Chase, a self-described Oregon Trail Generation millennial, wrote a chapter in Millennial Leadership about recruiting millennial leaders, but she first co-wrote an article about leadership, management and professional development in this 2015 AALL Spectrum article.

Leadership, Management, and Professional Development: Selecting and Planning for a Leadership and Management Development Course

AALL Spectrum, Vol. 19, Issue 9 (July 2015)

Filippa Anzalone

Anzalone, a baby boomer, authored a chapter about the importance of workplace relationships among the generations. She’s also authored several scholarly articles on library leadership and teaching legal research, including:

Servant Leadership: A New Model for Law Library Leaders

Law Library Journal, Vol. 99, Issue 4 (Fall 2007)

View Anzalone’s author profile for a full list of her articles.

Taryn Marks

Marks’ chapter in Millennial Leadership deals with activism, radicalism, and libraries of the future. She’s also written several articles available in the Law Journal Library about online research, such as:

Increasing Article Findability Online: The Four Cs of Search Engine Optimization 

Law Library Journal, Vol. 109, Issue 1 (Winter 2017)

View Marks’ author profile for a full list of her articles.

Michelle Cosby

Cosby’s chapter deals with trust and the millennial leader. She’s also written articles in the AALL Spectrum, including this one on how to help faculty navigate the publication process:

Assisting Faculty with Publishing: How Libraries Can Assist Faculty throughout the Publication Process 

AALL Spectrum, Vol. 16, Issue 4 (February 2012)

Katie Hanschke

In addition to co-writing a chapter on collaboration in the workplace in Millennial Leadership, Hanschke co-authored this article about the impact of disabilities on the allocation of health resources.

The Impact of Disability: A Comparative Approach to Medical Resource Allocation in Public Health Emergencies

Overcoming Barriers to Effective Legislative and Regulatory Changes in Health Care

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy, Vol. 8, Issue 2 (2015)

Dolly M. Knight

Knight’s chapter in Millennial Leadership deals with hostile work environments and millennials as leaders in an adversarial workplace. She’s also written several articles in AALL Spectrum on a variety of topics, including:

Reference Desk: Workplace Rights

AALL Spectrum, Vol. 22, Issue 4 (March/April 2018)

For a list of articles by Dolly Knight, access her author profile.

Ellen Frentzen

Frentzen’s chapter in the book is about millennials and professional development. She also co-authored an article in AALL Spectrum on the same topic:

Leadership, Management, and Professional Development: Selecting and Planning for a Leadership and Management Development Course

AALL Spectrum, Vol. 19, Issue 9 (July 2015)

Cate Kellett

Kellett co-authored a chapter in Millennial Leadership with Jordan A. Jefferson on self-motivation and millennial attitudes toward jobs and leadership. She also co-wrote this article found in the Law Journal Library:

Litchfield Unbound: Unlocking Legal History with Metadata, Digitization, and Digital Tools

Law and History Review, Vol. 34, Issue 4 (November 2016)

Jamie J. Baker

Baker’s chapter discusses the philosophy of the millennial leader’s role along with performance measurement. She’s written several articles about technology, including:

2018: A Legal Research Odyssey: Artificial Intelligence as Disruptor

Law Library Journal, Vol. 110, Issue 1 (Winter 2018)

For a full list of articles by Jamie Baker, access her author profile.

Millennials and Reading

According to this Forbes.com article, millennials actually read more than older generations. And, despite the advent of the Kindle, Nook, and other e-readers, print books are still the most popular format of reading material for all ages.

Millennial Leadership in Libraries is the perfect beach read for all generations. The different chapter authors offer unique perspectives and insights applicable to the library world and other fields. The importance of communication and understanding among different generations can’t be overstated. Order your copy today to gain a better understanding of the millennial generation and how it is already impacting leadership roles in many areas!

For help searching or navigating in HeinOnline, contact our dedicated support team at (800) 277-6995, email us, or chat with us!