Scholarly communication is a complex socio-technical information system

where human actors and evolving digital technologies interact to advance

knowledge creation, validation, and the sharing of information. While

academic libraries have long been a core component, they have shifted

from passive repositories to active service providers within the information

system space in response to profound disruptions. The persistent

uncertainty facing libraries challenges traditional knowledge creation

practices, historically rooted in managing physical artifacts, and presents

new opportunities for innovation centered on networked information

access and human-focused digital service design.

This dissertation investigates the evolving role of scholarly

communications services amidst systemic disruptions like the COVID-19

pandemic and the rise of generative AI. The research is understood as both

a study of disruption and a study conducted through disruption. The central

research question is: How does value co-creation shape scholarly

communication as a socio-technical system across diverse contexts and

amidst systemic disruptions? Grounded in socio-technical Information

Systems theory and using Service-Dominant Logic as its primary

analytical framework, this dissertation employs a retrospective metanarrative

of engaged scholarship, synthesizing findings from five

empirical studies (2018 and 2025).

The findings demonstrate an organizational shift from a static content

pipeline to a dynamic service platform, where participants are repositioned

from passive consumers to active co-creating partners. Value emerges not

from a delivered product, but from interactive processes (e.g., participatory

design, critical pedagogy) that generate tangible benefits. Results reveal

that in an era of perpetual crisis, resilience and relevance are not generated 

from technology alone, but also from designing and nurturing human-centered

co-creation.

The dissertation’s primary contribution is an empirically grounded

framework for understanding scholarly communication as a value cocreation

ecosystem. This approach provides a process-based view,

blending the Delone & McLean Information Systems Success model to

explicitly incorporate value co-creation, and deepening the socio-technical

perspective. Findings yield an actionable recommendation to design for

participation, not just access. The research concludes that in an age of

artificial intelligence and systemic uncertainty, our most valuable and

resilient infrastructure is human connection.