Richard Sweeney

Richard Sweeney is the University Librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).  He also co-chairs the Information Literacy Committee and is member of the Finance and Executive Committees of VALE (Virtual Academic Library of New Jersey), a consortium of over 50 academic libraries.  Rich is a member of the Teaching, Learning and Technology Committee for NJIT.  Rich has conducted about 30 panels of the Millennial generation around the country in a dozen states studying the impact upon colleges, universities and libraries.  This work led to a front page article about him in the October 7, 2005 Chronicle of Higher Education as well as Reinventing Library Buildings and Services for the Millennial Generation, Richard T..Library Administration & Management, Fall 2005, Vol. 19 Issue 4, p165-175, 11p; (AN 18472465).  Recently he wrote Millennial Behaviors & Demographics, available on his website [link to article]. Rich is a co-PI on an IMLS grant.

Rich is one of the few librarians who has held administrative positions in academic, public, and school libraries including Vice Provost for Libraries and Information Services at Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, Executive Director of the Public Library of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, Director of the Genesee County Library, Flint, MI and Director of the Atlantic City Free Public Library, NJ, and Librarian, Central Junior High School, Atlantic City, NJ.  Rich also served as a Cable Commissioner for the City of Columbus, OH.  In addition, Rich has taught at the high school, college and graduate levels.  Rich as written and had published a number of articles including Creating Library Services with Wow!: Staying Slightly Ahead of the Curve, which was published in Library Trends (Summer 1997).  Rich is a past invited mentor at the Snowbird Library Leadership Institute.  Rich has both written the successful grants and on occasion been on review boards for US Department of Education grants.  He is a frequent speaker and presenter including presentations in over forty states and several countries over the last twenty years on the future of libraries, digital libraries, library organizational structures, leadership, and related topics.  Rich is the 2002 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the College and University Section of the New Jersey Library Association.  Rich hold masters degrees from Drexel University and Rowan University.

Presentation:  Listening to the Millennials: Are They Different Learners?

They are impatient, better educated, digital natives who read less, want more selectivity in their products and services, expect to earn more than their parents, play electronic games, prefer learning experientially, frequently instant and text message and already know that they don't want to work and live like their parents. They are the Millennials, born after 1979 (now 18 to 27 years of age). Interact with Millennials, the largest new adult generation since the Baby Boomers. Are Millennial needs different than Gen Xers and Baby Boomer at the same age? What do Millennials want in a college? In teaching and learning? What are the ideal Millennial learning environments? What do Millennials like and/or not like about their current classes? This interactive session will offer academic participants an opportunity to learn about, and from 10 Millennials (born after 1979, 18 to 26 years of age.) selected from the local area colleges and paid an honorarium to participate on a panel (like a focus group). This is a rare opportunity to see how Millennials react to your own library and college plans and service ideas as well as learn from how they react to those of other academics. Richard Sweeney, University Librarian at New Jersey Institute of Technology will give a presentation for 30 minutes about Millennial characteristics and then for an hour he will interview 10 Millennials recruited from local colleges. The Millennial students will not have heard the presentation in advance. The audience will have the opportunity to directly ask questions of the Millennials in the latter half of the panel session