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Abstract: Perspectives of Black School Librarians on Recruitment and Retention
This study explores the lived experiences of Black female school librarians. Recruitment and retention of Black school librarians is a constant problem in the field of library and information science, and the empirical research on recruiting and retaining women librarians of color has focused on academic librarians. Studies on school librarians of color are limited to historical research, and more exploratory and empirical studies on Black school librarians need to be completed. The study explores the question: What can we learn from the lived experiences of current Black female school librarians to increase recruitment and retention in school librarianship? This qualitative research uses a Black Feminist Theoretical Framework to understand the collective perspectives of Black school librarians. Interview methods with practicing Black female school librarians serve as the data collection method. Thematic analysis using inductive coding provided collective perspectives and themes from semi-structured interviews. Three themes emerged from this study: pathways to school librarianship, representation politics, and workplace challenges for Black women. The implications of this research provide direction for increasing the number of Black people entering school librarianship.