Life Adventures

For my community, I am choosing to look at millennials, for a few reasons. The first reason is because I am classified as a millennial and I see that older systems are being updated from the influence of this age group. The definition of someone who is a millennial are teens that are born between the years 1989 and 1995, or simply Gen-Y.(Einhorn, 1992, p. 25) When looking at this group and comparing it to Durrance’s definition of an information community, millennials fall under an information community. In her definition, she states that “information communities form primarily around people’s needs to get and use information. She thus defined information communities as “constituencies united by a common interest in building and increasing access to a set of dynamic, linked, and varying information resources”(Fisher & Durrance, 4).

There are several resources I have found so far on what some millennials are seeking and where they are seeking that information. There are community groups online and various articles discussing the needs of millennials, as stated below.

1. The national millennial Community: their mission is to create an environment for the free exchange of ideas by providing a platform that intelligently communicates millennial thought. 
2. Millennial Marketing: This group focuses on sharing insight and commentary on the latest consumer and marketing trends for Millennials. They provide resources, information on millennials, research, books, events, and press information for patrons. here is also a blog for visitors to add on or read comments.
3. The article by Weina Wang, Kelly Kimberley, and Fangmin Wang, titled “Meeting the need of post-millennials: lending hot devices enables innovative library services: by providing cutting-edge technology and equipment, we encourage students to follow their curiosity.” Computers in Libraries Apr. 2017: 7+. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 15 Sept. 2017.  Which just discusses how to meet the technological needs of millennials. 
4. Millennials: The Emerging Workforce Payment, Maggi, Career Planning and Adult Development Journal. Discussing the ethics and needs of millennials. 
5. Cindy Clare’s “Generational differences: turning challenges into opportunities.” This article talks about how the older generation views the millennials and how both communities can learn from each other.

 

I thought it would be interesting to see how the group has changed or affected society in anyways because there seems to be a stereotype around millennials. Such as stating that millennials are lazy, complainers, and the reason why society is corrupting. I am interested in two things; One, seeing if there is any information on how this age group has affected the library system from how it used to be to modern times. And two: what researchers say about millennials; are they good or bad for society?

To make sure that this group is an information group that follows Fisher’s outline of the qualities of the information communities, I posed them as questions rather than ideas.

 

Is there an emphasis on collaboration among diverse information providers?.

 

Is there a capacity to form around people’s needs to access and use information?

Is there a capacity to exploit the information sharing qualities of emerging technologies?

Is there an ability to transcend barriers to information-sharing and to foster social connectedness?

The answer to all of these questions that Fisher poses, is yes. There are extensive research and resources on the topics of millennials. There is a need for sharing and finding information amongst each other and even from people outside of the group. There are also some articles I have found that explore the idea of managing millennials in a workforce or the relationships between the older generations and millennials.

Sources:

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/21/millennials-are-the-most-likely-generation-of-americans-to-use-public-libraries/#

http://www.nationalmillennialcommunity.com/

Clare, C. (2009, September 1). Generational Differences: Turning Challenges into Opportunities. Journal of Property Management.

Fisher, K. & Durrance, J. (2003). Information communities. In K. Christensen & D. Levinson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of community: From the village to the virtual world (Vol. 4, pp. 658-660). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781412952583.n248

Hello, everyone! My name is Marissa Afetian and this is my blog.

2017 has definitely been a year of adventures for me. I’ve experienced new sights, challenges, and countries! From March to June, I got to study abroad in Itay and Spain for a quarter! Before this, I had never been out of the country before, so I was super excited and ready for this adventure! After this amazing trip, I had visited 9 countries and over 20 cities! 

 

 

 

 

 

About four days later, I graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in History. Unfortunately, the speaker gave a speech that was both disturbing and interesting, but it was a speech I will remember forever.

After graduating, I was struggling with trying to find a job. I put pressure on myself to find a job ASAP. Luckily this month I got hired at the Academy of Art in San Francisco! I have been born and raised in Southern California, so dealing with the cold will be an adventure in itself!

Starting this program as soon as I graduated, will probably be one of my greatest adventures and I can’t wait to learn everything! I picked this program in hopes of furthering my knowledge in information science. I don’t want to work in a library, actually. My dream job is to work in a museum! During my time at UCLA, I was able to intern at several museums and experience what it is like to work in a museum. Ultimately, I would like to own my own museum one day!