Mission Statement
The mission of this Special Interest Section is to
help newer members of AALL become active participants in the organization and
profession. It is our goal to facilitate the engagement of members by providing
a forum for librarians from different organization types and departments to
learn, contribute, innovate, and network.
This Special Interest Section is not limited to those
members who are new in the profession. What made the Gen X/Gen Y Caucus so
successful was the combined voice of our community- new and established, young
and young at heart- working together to have a positive impact on our
profession. In order to accomplish this goal,
this Special Interest Section will focus its energy on 1) providing
opportunities to increase the professional knowledge and abilities of our
members through educational and leadership training and programs; 2)
encouraging collaboration and exploration of new methods, resources, and
technologies with other members, caucuses, and SISs; 3) providing networking
and mentoring opportunities for newer and established members; and, 4) promoting and highlighting the contributions
and innovations of our membership to the broader organization and profession.
The Gen X/ Gen Y Caucus was founded in December 2005
by Jennifer Marshall who saw a need for younger members of our profession to
connect with one another and to have an additional voice in the organization. Marshall's
early thinking was partly inspired by the AALL Task Force on Generation X and
Generation Y in 2004 and its report "Generations in Law Librarianship:
Results of AALL Survey." The Caucus' inaugural meeting was at the AALL
conference in July of 2006 in St. Louis. Over 100 excited younger librarians
attended this first meeting. At that meeting, various working groups were
created to explore issues of importance to the next generation of law
librarians. In 2009, the Caucus elected its first panel of officers.
Since its inception, the Gen X/ Gen Y Caucus has been
committed to providing an environment for newer and/or younger AALL members to
connect with one another, and to more established
librarians, in order to develop into
lifetime learners and innovators in the profession. The intention of this
Special Interest Section is to build upon the work of the Caucus by providing
an important additional voice in the AALL organization, increasing the
knowledge and abilities of our members, and assisting them in their growth as
they build rewarding careers.
The Caucus
The Gen X / Gen Y caucus was founded in December 2005 by Jennifer Marshall. Jennifer saw a need for younger members of our profession to connect with one another and to have an additional voice in the organization.
Jennifer's early thinking was partly inspired by the AALL Task Force on Generation X and Generation Y in 2004. This group produced a report which can be found here.
Our first meeting was at the AALL conference in July of 2006 in St. Louis. Over 100 excited young people attended this first meeting. At that meeting, we formed various groups to work on various issues of importance to us. In 2009, the caucus elected its first panel of officers.
Going forward, we hope to continue to work on issues of importance to us and prepare ourselves to become leaders and innovators in our profession.
Anyone can be involved in the Gen X / Gen Y Caucus if they are concerned about the future of law librarianship and want to give younger members of our profession a voice.
What Defines Generation X and Generation Y?
Generation X and Generation Y are terms used to describe demographic cohorts of people born after the baby boom. Precise definitions for these terms vary. For example, the US Census defines Generation X to mean those people born between the years 1968 and 1979. Other dates for Generation X, such as 1965 to 1976, or 1965 to 1981 have been used. Likewise, the precise boundaries of Generation Y are variable -- dates ranging as widely as 1979 through 1994 and 1982 through 2000 have been used. Colloquially speaking, 'Generation X' is a term used to refer to the group of people born in the late 1960s and 1970s, and 'Generation Y' refers to those born between the late 1970s and early 1990s.