Researching African American Women’s History

This chapter examines the ways in which library and information science scholarship can document African American women’s history—including the history of the field itself—through publication of biographies, bibliographies, and historical texts.

Through the author’s experiences, this chapter explores the roles of libraries, special collections, professional associations, journals, conferences, and academic and independent publishers in the production and dissemination of literature about African American women’s history.

The chapter emphasizes the importance of mentors and fellow scholars in the pursuit of historical research of populations that are often neglected in scholarship.