Collaboration between academics and library staff: A structurationist perspective

Developing effective forms of collaboration has become essential for universities dealing with the challenges of complex, dynamic environments. Although the importance of collaboration between academics and library staff is widely accepted, collaboration is a complex concept, representing a high level of human relationship, and there are many potential barriers to developing an effective collaborative partnership. This article reports on a research project exploring this topic through in-depth case study research in an Australian university, drawing on the theoretical lens of structuration theory. The research aims to elucidate the factors that affect collaboration between academics and library staff, including the power asymmetries that exist between different professional groups in a collaborative relationship, and the impacts of temporal and spatial dimensions, individual participants, and structural enablers and constraints on the collaborative partnership.