The Roles of Engagement at The Ohio State University Libraries: Thoughts from an Early Adopter

Changes in information and technology continue to test how librarians interact with and support patrons. Now, engaged librarians have the opportunity to immerse themselves in their user’s workflows and become partners in the research enterprise. Engagement represents a model of librarianship in which librarians are challenged to move from the traditional collection-centered model to an engaged-focused one. It requires new roles and tasks, as well as a deeper understanding of the academic setting. This article discusses working in a large research institution and articulates the engagement model.     

Integration of Electronic Communication in Higher Education: Contributions of Faculty Computer Self-Efficacy

How confident are college faculty to integrate technology in their teaching? This study examined relationships between faculty computer self-efficacy and integration of electronic communication when teaching. Faculty at a Research I land-grant university were mailed a self-report questionnaire yielding a 59 percent response rate. Over half used electronic communication in their courses, mostly for course-related announcements and deadlines, but least for synchronous communication. Computer self-efficacy scores differed on age, gender, college, integration, and computer experience. Low integrators and female faculty reported lower confidence in using computers. As universities offer courses with significant Web-presence, faculty development efforts need to increase self-efficacy by providing hands-on experiences in technologically supported environments.     

International perceptions across the sea: Patterns in Japanese young adults

The international perceptions of Japanese young adults were explored in 172 professional education students in two Tokyo colleges. They classified 30 nations according to their “current” and “future” affinity to Japan. Little difference was detected in the Q-sorts between institutions arid sexes, while the “current” and “future” sorts correlated .96 with each other. In cluster analyses, many two-nation units (e.g., Czechoslovakia-Yugoslavia) were found to be the building blocks for the overall pattern. The total configuration consisted of three broad groups: mostly Western European nations, problematical nations (China, Russia, Israel, Egypt, etc.), and remote and neutral nations. Structurally, the results were similar to those for American young adults, but the contents were different. The notion of cultural metastereotypes thus received tentative support.