The academic library as co-producer of transdisciplinary engagement: A social exchange framework for resource mobilization and outreach

Abstract

This paper introduces the Strategic Reciprocity Model, a framework that repositions the academic library as a strategic and fiscal co-producer of transdisciplinary engagement. Using the LACES (Lab for Art, Community, Ecology & Science) Library Mural Project at University of Malta as a case study, the paper examines how libraries can institutionalize transdisciplinary research through fiscal agency and collaborative governance. The study adopts a qualitative single-site case study methodology informed by Social Exchange Theory (SET). It analyzes how the library exchanged spatial and financial capital for the faculty’s pedagogical expertise to generate mutual institutional value. Data collection combined administrative and financial document analysis, semi-structured interviews with library management and faculty leads, and pre- and post-installation user surveys supported by non-participant observation. Findings indicate that the permanent integration of the arts-based installation transformed a high-traffic transit area into a more engaged community-oriented space. Users increasingly perceived the library not as a sterile environment, but as an advocate for sustainability and community engagement. The library’s fiscal agency, including the management of internal funding and a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) grant, enabled it to participate in governance over the project and convert a temporary exhibit into a permanent educational resource. Faculty participants further emphasized the library’s disciplinary neutrality and central institutional position as important in legitimizing arts-based community collaborations. The paper proposes the Strategic Reciprocity Model as a practical framework through which libraries can overcome institutional silos and support methodologies such as Arts-Based Research (ABR) and STEAM. By reframing outreach as reciprocal exchange rather than unilateral service, the study contributes a novel perspective to library literature, positioning the academic library as an active strategic partner and research co-producer rather than solely a service provider or venue.