Boomers and Beyond: Reconsidering the Role of Libraries

Congrats to Pauline and Diantha on a great book.

Boomers and Beyond: Reconsidering the Role of Libraries
Edited by Pauline Rothstein and Diantha Dow Schull
Publisher: ALA Editions
Price: $55.00
152 pages
8.5? x 11?, Softcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-1014-6
Year Published: 2010

A roadmap to the trends and perspectives on the library’s role in meeting the needs of our aging population, this book offers

Proactive ideas that serve the increasing longevity of your patrons
Different perspectives on longevity from a variety of scholars and experts
A section on librarians’ responses to the issues
Supporting this growing population is a concern of many, and this book will help you find ways to be creative and take the initiative to build a better service model for these customers.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I
Older Adults: Essential Concepts and Recent Discoveries

1 New Patterns of Aging: Implications for Libraries and Cultural Institutions
Joanne Gard Marshall and Victor Marshall

2 Optimizing Health: A Life-Span Approach
Margie E. Lachman and Stefan Agrigoroaei

3 Library Leadership for Mature Adult Learners in a Changing World: The Importance of Attending to Developmental Diversity
Ellie Drago-Severson and Jessica Blum

4 The Importance of Spirituality in an Aging Society
Robert C. Atchley

5 Work and Purpose after 50
Stephen Ristau

Part II
Institutional Opportunities

6 In Search of Active Wisdom: Libraries and Consciousness-Raising for Adulthood II
Mary Catherine Bateson

7 Information-Questing Moments: Retirement-Age Americans at the Library Door
Ronald J. Manheimer and Miwako Kidahashi

8 Reconsidering Age: The Emerging Role of Cultural Institutions
Diantha Dow Schull and Selma Thomas

9 Reclaiming the “Public” Library: Engaging Immigrants, Building Democracy
Nan Kari and David Scheie

10 The Library as Place in an Aging Society
Diantha Dow Schull

Part III
Librarians’ Perspectives

11 Conversations and the True Knowledge of Generations
R. David Lankes with assistance from Pamela H. Jureller

12 Old Dogs, New Tricks: The Myths and the Realities
Stephen Abram

13 Musings on Challenges for Librarians in 2040
Pauline Rothstein

About the Authors

Pauline Rothstein has a Ph.D. from Fordham University,and an M.L.S. from Pratt. She has had a long career as a practicing librarian in special and academic libraries, specifically as Dean of the Library for Ramapo College and librarian for the Russell Sage Foundation where she created a library. In her activities in the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) as well as local library associations she is known for her innovative ideas. Currently she is Program Administrator for the LIU/NYU Dual Degree Masters program at New York University, funded by an IMLS grant she helped prepare. She has taught at Rutgers University’s library school, the School of Engineering at City College and at Baruch College. A long time adjunct faculty member for LIU’s Palmer School, the Institute she developed on lifelong learning for older adults was the catalyst for the current volume.

Diantha Dow Schull established DDSchull Associates to provide advisory services to libraries, museums and foundations on program development, organizational planning, grantmaking and fundraising. Formerly she was President of Libraries for the Future (aka Americans for Libraries Council) where she designed and directed the Lifelong Access Libraries initiative and other national library development programs. Prior to joining LFF, Schull was Executive Director of the French-American Foundation, Director of Exhibitions and Education at the New York Public Library, Director of Interpretive Programs at the Library of Congress, and Assistant Director of the Museum Aid Program of the New York State Council on the Arts. Schull is a recognized expert in fund development and a sought after speaker for conferences and professional training. She serves as a member of the Board of the Connecticut Humanities Council and is Preservation Advisor to the Town of Southbury, CT. She holds a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from the State University of New York and is the author of numerous articles on cultural institutions including “Public Libraries: Places for Renewal” in Aging Today, a publication of the American Society on Aging (July 2003) and The Civic Library: A Model for 21st Century Participation in Advances in Librarianship (Vol 28, 2004).