McCombs "The keys to the kingdom have been distributed"

McCombs (1998) "The keys to the kingdom have been distributed: an organizational analysis of an academic computing centre". Library Trends: 46(4) 681-698

An ethnographic cultural analysis of an academic computer centre.

Pre-1980's the computer technicians were the undisputed experts on campus: they held the keys to the kingdom.

As computing became more distributed, so the expertise was distributed. This caused a degree of role alienation and confusion. Responsibilities were rarely clearly defined, and so people's work often went un-appreciated in any official capacity and people were less productive anyway.

McCombs believes they were marooned: their old value system dictated how things should be done, but these practices were irrelevant.
Did valuing customer service mean neglecting technical expertise?

This paper is good because it does show someone entering another world and exposing what they find there, and importantly for me, the other world is remakably mundane.