1. AGEISM
Or, Age Discrimination
Melissa I. Cardenas-Dow
LIS590SJL – UIUC GSLIS, Spring 2014
February 28, 2014

2. AGE DISCRIMINATION DEFINED
• Grouping, categorizing and valuing an age group/range over
others
• i.e., “Young” vs. “Old”
• Annoyed Librarian column (01/06/14). Library Journal
(libraryjournal.com).
• U.S. Federal law: Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967(ADEA); age is protected = 40 and ↑
• Recent literature focus: young, new hires vs. older library staff
(Chu, 2009)

3. LIBRARY SERVICES TO PATRONS
• Services for seniors and the elderly (Servon, 2002)
• Developing collections – large print, book-club materials
• Developing services and events – technology-oriented
courses, outreach (bookmobiles, home deliveries), game
nights
• Deeply connected to issues of mobility and disability
• Services for children and youth
• Developing collections – toys, games, even video games
• Developing services and events – school-oriented, leisureoriented, aspiration-oriented

4. LIBRARY PERSONNEL
• Challenges, Issues (Chu, 2009)
• Stereotypes
• Access to opportunities
• Job dissatisfaction (young)
• Burnout, “retirement in place” (young, older)

5. RESOURCES
Chu, M. (2009). Ageism in academic librarianship. Electronic Journal of
Academic and Special Librarianship, 10(2). Retrieved:
http://southernlibrarianship.icaap.org/content/v10n02/chu_m01.html
Annoyed Librarian. (2014, January 06). Older and younger librarians and jobs.
Library Journal. Retrieved:
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/blogs/annoyedlibrarian/2014/01/06/older-andyounger-librarians-and-jobs/