Generational divides are some of the steepest, defined not just by age, but by differences in experiences, cultures, and perspectives. Through intergenerational programming, libraries foster design opportunities for people to interact with, learn from, and share with people of different ages, interests, and cultural backgrounds. In this session, participants will distinguish between “intergenerational” and “multigenerational,” explore generational labels, discover the benefits of and barriers to intergenerational relationship building, and find resources from and beyond the library landscape for designing their own intergenerational programs.

Presented by:

• Cristy Moran, Library Consultant

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Related resources and links

Ageism & Stereotyping of Generations

Let’s End Ageism, Ashton Applewhite TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfjzkO6_DEI

Generational Birth Years (Center for Generational Kinetics) https://genhq.com/generational-birth-years/

Generations Table

Demographics & Population Information

Trends & Reports

 An Aging Nation: US Median Age Surpassed 39 in 2024, US Census Bureau (2025)
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/06/metro-areas-median-age.html

Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The US Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community 2023, US Department of Health and Human Services
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020-2060, US Census Bureau (updated 2020) 
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.pdf 

Searches & Data Dashboards

The Kids Count Data Center (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
https://datacenter.aecf.org/

US Census Bureau data searches and dashboards landing page https://www.census.gov/data.html

Example search for Colorado data profile: Data Profiles >> Select State >> From Topics select Populations and People → https://data.census.gov/profile/Colorado?g=040XX00US08#populations-a nd-people

Intergenerational Programming

Trends & Reports

7 Tips to Bring Intergenerational Programs to Your Library, Programming Librarian (2025)
https://programminglibrarian.org/tags/intergenerational-programs

Connecting generations: planning and implementing interventions for intergenerational contact, World Health Organization (2023) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240070264

Global Campaign to Combat Ageism – Toolkit, World Health Organization (2021)
https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/global-campaign-to-combat-ageism-toolkit

Intergenerational Programs at the Library: Connecting Generations for Health Communities, WebJunction (2018) 
https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/intergenerational-programs-at-the-library.html

Making the Case for Intergenerational Programs, Generations United (2021) https://www.gu.org/resources/making-the-case-for-intergenerational-programs/

Example Programs

 Program Spotlight from Colorado Virtual Library https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/tag/program-spotlight/

SilverKite Community Arts, Intergenerational Programs https://www.silverkite.us/intergenerational-programs

 Why Creative Aging? Lifetime Arts
https://lifetimearts.org/why/

Searches & Dashboards

Intergenerational Connection Hub
https://www.aging-dynamics.com/intergenerational-hub

Intergenerational Programs Hub, Generations United
https://www.gu.org/home/ig-program-database/

Programming Librarian
https://programminglibrarian.org/

Resources Library, Generations United
https://www.gu.org/resources/