E.J. Josey: Transformational Leader of the Modern Library Profession
Channel: PGCMLS
Date: 2020-04-01

Celebrate the start of "Love Your Library" Month at PGCMLS with a talk by Dr. Renate L. Chancellor on her new book "E.J. Josey: Transformational Leader of the Modern Library Profession. " 

In the era of Jim Crow, Josey rose to prominence in the library profession by challenging the American Library Association (ALA) to live up to its creed of equality for all. This was not easy during the 1950s and 1960s, during segregation. Using interviews with Josey and his contemporaries, as well as several archival sources, library educator Renate Chancellor analyzes Josey’s leadership, particularly within modern day racial currents. During his professional career, spanning over fifty years (1952-2002), Josey worked as a librarian (1953-1966), an administrator of library services (1966-1986), and as a professor of library science (1986-1995). He also served as President of the American Library Association and perhaps his most notable achievement, he successfully drafted a resolution that prevented state library associations from discriminating against African American librarians. This essentially ended segregation in the ALA. Josey’s transformative leadership provides a model to tackle today’s civil rights challenges both in and outside the library profession.

Dr. Renate L. Chancellor is Associate Professor of Library and Information Science (LIS) at the Catholic University of America where she teaches foundational courses in LIS as well as specialized courses on oral history, law librarianship and human information behavior. She received her master’s and Ph.D. in Information Studies from the University California, Los Angeles. Chancellor’s research focuses on human information behavior, diversity, and social justice in LIS. She has published in scholarly journals and have presented her research in national and international venues. She is recipient of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Leadership Award in 2012 and the ALISE Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014.