INTRODUCTION How are transformational ideas and practices produced and diffused in an academic discipline? Does a new technology lead to more widespread dissemination of cutting-edge teaching and learning materials? Does it lead to changes in the connections and characteristics of sociology faculty members involved in the production and consumption of teaching and learning knowledge? Or, are social interventions necessary to broaden the scope of usage and patterns? This research brief is based on the fndings from a National Science Foundation- funded study. The study compares the characteristics of consumers of the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) new interactive, peer-reviewed Teaching Resource and Innovative Library in Sociology (TRAILS) in 2010 with those of a now- defunct paper-based library of paper materials in 2008 (the Teaching Resources Center or TRC). The TRAILS library is designed to host and disseminate cutting-edge scholarship of teaching and learning. We compare TRC users in 2008 with “early adopters,” who subscribed to TRAILS during the frst six months after its launch in May 2010. We also compare the participation of consumers and producers of teaching and learning knowledge in a teaching and learning network in 2008 and in 2010, before and after TRAILS’ launch. The purpose of TRAILS is three-fold: 1. To expose faculty members to a wide range of cutting-edge ideas and innovative teaching techniques; 2. To disseminate cutting-edge instructional materials and strategies to a more diverse group of faculty and schools; and 3. To increase the size and scope of a scholarship of teaching and learning network through mobilizing new participants. The rationale for the study is the rapid growth of digital science libraries on the internet. An important subset aims to make cutting-edge science education materials available. Are materials more likely to be diffused through digital libraries than through paper-based libraries? Existing literature suggests that diffusion of innovative teaching materials may not be a technological process alone. NETWORKS Network analysis is distinguished by the attention it pays to the links and relations among actors, organizations, and activities within a social system (Rogers 2003; Wasserman and Faust 1994). Links or ties among participants, potential recruits, and the activities in which they participate are necessary for network formation, continuation, and growth. Prior social ties are seen as the basis for recruitment and diffusion that is thought to occur along existing lines of interaction (Diani and McAdam 2003). Those networks with dense ties are viewed as the most successful in bringing about change (Rogers 2003). The density of adherents and the diffusion of knowledge can be examined through the application of network analysis. Existing literature suggests that the mere introduction of technological innovations into new segments of social networks do not guarantee diffusion into these segments (Abrahamson and Rosenkopf 1997). Networks and the Diffusion of Cutting-Edge Teaching and Learning Knowledge in Sociology RESEARCH BRIEF Roberta Spalter-Roth, Olga V. Mayorova, Jean H. Shin, and Janene Scelza American Sociological Association • Department of Research & Development • February 2011 1 The study is titled Innovation in Digital Libraries: An Experimental Examination of the Production, Diffusion, and Use of STEM Teaching Materials.