Negotiating Cultural Identity in the Digital Age: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Resource Integration Practices in a Chinese University Library
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61360/BoniGHSS262020160304Keywords:
university library, cultural heritage, digital integration, collaborative autoethnography, technological mediation, ChinaAbstract
Purpose – The digital transformation of university libraries in China presents a complex terrain where institutional mandates for cultural education intersect with the affordances of emerging digital technologies and the rich tapestry of local heritage. This paper examines how practitioners navigate these intersections through reflexive, collaborative practice.
Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a collaborative autoethnographic approach, this study critically examines a three-year initiative to integrate regional culture (e.g., Great Wall heritage) with institutional characteristics (e.g., metallurgical engineering legacy) in a Chinese university library. Data include narrative accounts, 33 semi-structured interviews, and participatory observation. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo 12.
Findings – Three core tensions emerged: (1) authenticity vs. accessibility in digitisation; (2) institutional narrative vs. local voice in curation; and (3) technological enthusiasm vs. user agency in interactive design. Successful integration is reconceptualised as ongoing negotiation rather than seamless fusion.
Originality/value – This study contributes to LIS by theorising the academic library as a dynamic “cultural negotiation space,” highlighting the socio-technical complexities of heritage work in non-Western contexts. It challenges techno-optimistic models of digital integration and foregrounds relational, reflexive practice.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Yu Chen, Kai Chen
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
