Professors Kathi Inman Berens and Rachel Noorda, media researchers at Portland State University, present 2025 data and insights about how Gen Z use libraries. The researchers contextualize their longitudinal survey data with ethnographic research and conversations with many librarians.

What are some successful strategies libraries use to reach and serve Gen Z? What paradoxes characterize Gen Z’s media identities and behaviors? Participants will leave with tips on how to strengthen Gen Z’s connection to libraries, how to understand Gen Z, and how promote services that resonate with younger audiences.

Presented by:

• Professor Kathi Inman Berens, Portland State University 
• Professor Rachel Noorda, Portland State University

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Webinar attachments

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Related resources and links

• Berens' and Noorda's new book (2026), How Gen Z Discover and Consume Books
• 1000-word summary of the book
• Book Riot podcast episode (29 July 2026) where Noorda and Berens discuss the book's findings - library-specific information around 36 minute mark
• What the panic over Gen Z’s reading habits gets wrong - 4 August 2026 article in The Conversation's daily newsletter
• Publishing industry ‘study” says digital library lending is cannibalizing retail sales – librarians say it reveals something else. Words and Money article (4 September 2026)
• Digital Public Library Ecosystem 2023 by Noorda and Berens. Published by ALA. 
• Your Undivided Attention - podcast from the Center for Humane Technology.
• How Gen Z Uses Gen AI - and Why It Worries Them by Lira et al. 29 January 2026 in The Harvard Business Review. 
• Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation by the Surgeon General, 2023. 
• WebJunction's collection of resources on libraries and social connection