NCAAL

The presence of Black and African American LIS school administrators tells a rich and conflicting story regarding the status of diversity in librarianship. As the American Library Association continues to support diversity initiatives, the number of Black and African American LIS administrators persistently pale in comparison to the number of Caucasian administrators. Moreover, the number of students represented by this population demonstrates the need for renewed recruitment efforts.  It can be speculated that the lack of Black and African American LIS school administrators is negatively impacting the number of Black and African LIS students because research indicates that role models in a profession that is traditionally overlooked by minorities positively impacts the pursuit of these careers (Lee, 2011).

This poster reports the findings of research that combines recruitment and leadership advice from current and past Black and African American LIS school administrators with an examination of the historical and current presence of Black and African American leadership in LIS education. This examination will serve as a foundation for providing implications regarding the state of Black and African American librarianship. If Black and African American librarians are to continue to excel as transformative presences within communities, there must be strong role models and educational initiatives to nurture their advancement. 
Lee. D. N. (2011). Under-represented and underserved: Why minority role models matter in STEM. Retrieved from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/under-represented-and-underserved-why-minority-role-models-matter-in-stem/