Transdisciplinary strategies and challenges for digital librarians: early Italian findings from a Delphi study

Purpose This paper seeks to understand how scholars and practitioners in LIS, digital humanities and computer science conceptualize digital libraries and to identify strategies for ensuring user-centered services. Furthermore, the paper aims to examine transdisciplinary as it relates to digital library research and practice in Italy. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a mixed-methods approach with a structured literature review and a modified Delphi method. Approximately 80 recent publications (2020–2025) were analyzed to identify key issues and inform the research design. A purposive, quota-based sample of 12 experts from four domains was recruited. Data were collected through an anonymous online questionnaire structured around eight thematic areas. The survey statements were generated using artificial intelligence-tools and refined by the authors. Findings The findings reveal a significant lack of consensus among experts on the definition of digital libraries, the concept of “user-centrity” and related approaches, the concept of participation, as well as on the realization of transdisciplinary. Divergences appear to be closely linked to disciplinary fragmentation, particularly across Library and Information Science, Archival Studies and Digital Heritage education and practice. While the modified Delphi method proved effective in eliciting and structuring expert perspectives, it did not result in convergence. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study constitutes one of the first applications of a modified Delphi method within the Italian Library and Information Science domain. It underscores the role of disciplinary fragmentation in shaping conceptual divergence and suggests that enhanced cross-disciplinary collaboration may foster shared understandings and vision of digital libraries. The paper also advocates for the replication of this study in other international contexts to support comparative research.