Discover the history of Black women librarians and their significant contributions to libraries and the library profession.

For decades, Black women of the African Diaspora have made invaluable contributions, often extending their labor beyond formal expectations to ensure meaningful access to libraries and information services for the communities who seek, need, and depend on them. Pioneering librarians such as Daphne Rowena Douglas, Eliza Atkins Gleason, Carla D. Hayden, Felicia Adetowun Ogunsheye, Rocky Ralebipi-Simela, and Dorothy Porter Wesley among others, worked tirelessly to advance equitable library services for Black communities and to advocate for the recruitment and professional advancement of Black librarians within the field.

Throughout this volume, readers will encounter narratives of both historical innovators and contemporary leaders, gaining insight into their struggles, achievements, challenges, and victories. Collectively, these essays demonstrate how, through persistence, dedication, and vision, Black women of the African Diaspora have effected-and continue to effect-meaningful change, progress, and innovation within librarianship.

Jahala Simuel is a school librarian at School Without Walls HS in Washington, DC, USA.

Michele Fenton is a monographs catalog librarian at the Indiana State Library, USA and author of the blog Little Known Black Librarian Facts