Connecting with Community: The Importance of Community Engagement in Rural Public Library Systems

While the topic of community engagement in public libraries has been researched in urban public library systems, little research explores community engagement in rural library systems. The Canadian province of Nova Scotia is largely rural and sparsely populated, with a dwindling and aging rural population. This report examines how community engagement can connect Nova Scotia’s rural public libraries with their communities. Librarians from eight predominantly rural library systems across the province were interviewed regarding the community engagement practices currently being used within their libraries and how their patrons (particularly youth) were reacting and responding to these practices. This article synthesizes the information derived from these interviews and provides a summary of the community engagement efforts being made throughout Nova Scotia. This study ultimately determines that while librarians in rural communities face a number of challenges when attempting to implement community engagement (e.g., small budgets and low staffing numbers), they remain extremely passionate about the topic and dedicated to serving their communities in the most meaningful and relevant way possible.     

Anticipatory Eye Movements While Watching Continuous Action Across Shots in Video Sequences: A Developmental Study

Eye movements were recorded as 12‐month‐olds (n = 15), 4‐year‐olds (n = 17), and adults (n = 19) watched a 15‐min video with sequences of shots conveying continuous motion. The central question was whether, and at what age, viewers anticipate the reappearance of objects following cuts to new shots. Adults were more likely than younger viewers to make anticipatory eye movements. Four‐year‐olds responded to transitions more slowly and tended to fixate the center of the screen. Infants’ eye movement patterns reflected a tendency to react rather than anticipate. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that adults integrate content across shots and understand how space is represented in edited video. Results are interpreted with respect to a developing understanding of film editing due to experience and cognitive maturation.     

Steering a course towards eudaimonia: the effects of sail training on well-being and character

Sail training voyages have been shown to enhance self-constructs and inter-personal and intra-personal skills. It is suggested through this case-study approach with twelve 14 year-old crew participants that such an experience contributes towards well-being and character development in emerging adulthood. An audit of voyage-based experiences generated an inventory of 58 authentic activities and participants completed questionnaires immediately post-voyage (T¹) and six months later (T²) to rate the significance of each activity. The highest rated activities reflected Maslow’s lower order of needs with a two-thirds correspondence at T¹ and T². Helming (or steering the vessel) was ranked as the most significant activity by participants in both time periods, although participants had questioned their ability to do this before the voyage. Helming is suggested to activate cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains in an authentic adventure education experience that contributes to hedonic well-being and may provide a course towards eudaimonia.