Prelims

CRITICAL RACE THEORY IN LIS

ADVANCES IN LIBRARIANSHIP

• Bharat Mehra, The University of Alabama, Series Editor

Advances in Librarianship Editorial Board

• Denise E. Agosto Drexel University, USA

• Wade Bishop University of Tennessee Knoxville, USA

• John Buschman Seton Hall University, USA

• Michelle Caswell University of California Los Angeles, USA

• Sandra Hughes-Hassell University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

• Paul T. Jaeger University of Maryland, USA

• Don Latham Florida State University, USA

• Jerome Offord Harvard University, USA

ADVANCES IN LIBRARIANSHIP - Volume 56

CRITICAL RACE THEORY IN LIS: CHALLENGING WHITE SUPREMACY IN LIBRARIES

EDITED BY

MÓNICA COLÓN-AGUIRRE

University of South Carolina, USA

NICOLE A. COOKE

University of South Carolina, USA

AISHA M. JOHNSON

Georgia Institute of Technology Libraries, USA

AND

ANASTASIA M. COLLINS

Phillips Academy, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2025

Editorial Matter and Selection © 2025 Mónica Colón-Aguirre, Nicole A. Cooke, Aisha M. Johnson and Anastasia M. Collins.

Individual chapters © 2025 The authors.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83797-067-4 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83797-066-7 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83797-068-1 (Epub)

ISSN: 0065-2830 (Series)

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I am delighted to take this opportunity and introduce myself as the Series Editor of Advances in Librarianship since January 2021. In this capacity, I am extending the series’ impact via integrating a critical perspective that spotlights social justice and inclusive praxis from the shadows to become an emerging canon at the very core of who we are and what we value as legit in library and information science (LIS) scholarship and practice. This strategic vision requires destabilizing of entrenched hegemonies within our privileged ranks and external communities to alleviate intersecting political, economic, social, and cultural anxieties and power imbalances we witness today. As we move toward the quarter-century mark, we also need to effectively document such paradigmatic shifts in LIS, serving as a foundation of inspiration upon which, together in our multiple identities and diversities, we can proudly contribute to the building of a meaningful society toward a brighter future for our children to inherit.

New stimulating models reimagining (or extending) the roles for cultural memory institutions (e.g., libraries, museums, archives, schools, etc.) and the field of information are much required to develop symbolic and real infrastructures for moving us forward. We also need to better tell our stories of information activism and community mobilization in the face of overwhelming challenges to human existence, from forces of neoliberal corporatization, political ransacking, media irresponsibility, climate change, environmental degradation, and pandemic dis/misinformation, to name a few. What do the contemporary threats of human extinction and cultural decay mean for LIS professionals, be it scholars, researchers, educators, practitioners, students, and others embedded in a variety of information settings? For one, it requires actions in the “doing” of resistance via information to decenter dysfunctional powerbrokers and their oppressions and entitled privileges. Further, disseminating a forward-thinking agenda and narrative beyond our internally focused bastardized institutional bastions is equally important, as we adopt an active stance to promote fairness, justice, equity/equality, change agency, empowerment, community building, and community development.

Advances in Librarianship holds a special place in the hands, hearts, and minds of readers as a key platform to support creative ideas and practices that change and better articulate the vital contributions of libraries and the impact of information on diverse multicultural communities in a global network information society. Moving forward, my aim for the series is to engage our diverse professional communities in critical discourse that enables real transformations to occur. It is important to propel progress in shifting entrenched positionalities in LIS, while making visible content related to the “margins.” Decentering canons and practices toward equity of representation, inclusivity, and progressive change will naturally occur. Intersecting social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals in recent times demand an urgent response from the LIS professions in this regard.

I am truly honored and privileged to build on the legacy of Paul T. Jaeger, who served as Series Editor of Advances in Librarianship since 2013. His research helped to mobilize LIS in addressing concerns surrounding equity, diversity, and inclusion more substantially beyond past lip service, also shaping the focus of the book series. I plan to operationalize new directions for single or multi-authored book-length explorations and edited collections by shifting focus on understudied spaces, invisible populations from the margins, and knowledge domains that have been under-researched or under-published in LIS and beyond. Examples of works might involve a critical assessment and evaluation of a reflective journey that established, or newly emerging LIS scholars, researchers, practitioners, and students undertake to propose solutions or actions in changing entrenched practices and systemic imbalanced inequities in different library and information-related settings. It might also involve decolonizing LIS publication industries in their biased Euro/Anglo-centricities with the inclusion of content from geographical diversities around the world.

I am reaching out to our multiple audiences for their support toward these goals in spreading the word for proposals to new volumes in the series. Let us find our “collective voice” in the LIS professions to make us all uncomfortable as we continue to “push the buttons,” thereby, becoming stronger in our quest to further social justice and develop our humanity, human dignity, respect, and potential to the fullest.

Bharat Mehra, Ph.D.

Professor & EBSCO Endowed Chair in Social Justice School of Library and Information Studies

University of Alabama

Mónica Colón-Aguirre is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina, School of Information Science. She is a recipient of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship (2008) and has more than 11 years of experience as an instructor and researcher. Her areas of research include library management, services for underserved populations, information behaviors of Spanish speakers and social justice approaches to information. Before she became a faculty member, she worked in libraries both in the continental United States and in her native Puerto Rico.

Nicole A. Cooke is the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair and a Professor at the University of South Carolina. Her research and teaching interests include human information behavior, critical cultural information studies, LIS education, and diversity and social justice in librarianship. She has been awarded the 2019 Association of Library and Information Science Education Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2021 MLK Social Justice Award presented by the University of South Carolina, and the 2024 American Library Association (ALA) Lippincott Award. She has edited and authored several books, including Information Services to Diverse Populations and Fake News and Alternative Facts: Information Literacy in a Post-truth Era. Her forthcoming titles include the 2nd edition of Information Services to Diverse Populations and Foundations of Social Justice, both of which will be published by ALA Editions | Neal-Schuman.

Aisha M. Johnson, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Outreach at Georgia Institute of Technology Library. An influential leader in both scholarship and practice, she champions access, inclusivity, and strategic leadership. Her mission is to advance the field by cultivating new and experienced professionals as scholar-practitioners and leaders who advocate for the underserved. She authored The African American Struggle for Library Equality and has published extensively on representation and inclusion in Library and Information Science. With contributions rooted in impact, she was dubbed the 2020 Distinguished Alumni of Florida State University’s College of Communication and Information, iSchool for her research and scholarship. Subsequently, in 2021, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History recognized her work and impact with the Freedom Scholar Award. Most recently, she was recognized in the 2024 class of Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers. She has been featured on Good Morning America for her contributions to The Black Librarian documentary as well as CNN discussion inclusive pedagogy.

Anastasia M. Collins (she/they) is a Black Queer Academic Instruction Librarian at Phillips Academy where they also serve as Geographer-at-Large for the Sidney R. Knafel Map Collection. She holds an MS in Library and Information Science (LIS) and an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons University. A 2013–2014 Spectrum Scholar and 2021 Mover & Shaker, their research interests include anti-oppression work in LIS, marginalized research communities and behaviors, critical information literacy and transparency practices, and disruption in youth literature studies.

Tinukwa Boulder, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leading (TLL) and the Director of Innovative Technologies and Online Learning at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. She is also an Associate Chair of TLL. She has a doctorate in Instructional Systems and Workforce Development from Mississippi State University. She has over 15 years of experience in higher education with expertise in teaching, instructional design, faculty development, consultative leadership, and project management. Her research focuses on innovative technology integration, critical instructional design, and digital media for learning.

Tasha M. Brown, PhD, PMP is a seasoned instructional designer who has partnered with faculty, staff, and librarians to develop innovative, engaging, and pedagogically sound courses and educational content. As a dynamic change agent and transformational leader, she cultivates a culture of continuous learning and improvement, empowering teams to achieve excellence. With expertise spanning instructional design, project management, assessment, and evaluation, she leverages her extensive knowledge to drive impactful learning experiences. Her research focuses on project management in instructional design and student engagement.

Deborah Yun Caldwell is the Data Services Librarian at the University of North Texas. She was previously a Diversity Resident Librarian at UNC Greensboro, where her work focused on supporting early-career librarians of color. She is also a member of the Library Freedom Project, advocating to equip librarians and their communities with the skills and knowledge to mitigate the harms of living in a surveillance society. She holds a Master of Information Science from the University of North Texas. Her professional interests lie in exploring the intersections of data stewardship, intellectual freedom, privacy, and the justice of information access.

Tessa R. Campbell (Tlingit/Tulalip) is an ALA Doctoral Spectrum Scholar and PhD candidate at the University of Washington’s iSchool. With 24 years of experience in libraries and museums, she holds a Master of Library and Information Science and Master’s in Museum Studies. Her research focus is investigating the information seeking behaviors and needs of Native Americans who identify the need for a behavior change pertaining to their health and wellness. Passionate about amplifying Indigenous voices, she ensures their authentic historic and contemporary representation as an Executive Committee Board Member for Historylink.org, the nation’s first online encyclopedia of local and state history (https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2570-6906).

Shannon Crooks is a doctoral student at Syracuse University in the Information Science and Technology PhD program. She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work from Winthrop and Howard University. Previously, she worked as a Librarian Supervisor at an urban library in Prince George’s County, Maryland. While working in the library, she strategized how to engage and support the library community. She spent several years working as a social worker in various roles. Working in social work has enriched her librarianship skill set and guided her practice. Her primary research focus is community engagement.

jaime ding is a PhD student in the Information Studies Department at the University of California Los Angeles. Her research thinks about the history of US academic librarianship, critiquing the professionalization of the industry and its relationship to class, power, labor, and race.

Jose C. Guerrero is a cataloging librarian who lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. He received his Master of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University, was an IMLS-Rare Book School Fellow, and currently works at the Berkeley Public Library. Prior to librarianship, he worked in the rare book trade selling new and out of print books from Latin America and the Caribbean. His research interests include library history and histories of books and book collecting in Latin America. He believes every book is a rare book.

Andrea M. Hayes is an Assistant Professor at Purdue University and is an interdisciplinary scholar, researcher, and librarian. Her research focuses on the dissemination of reliable, accessible, and authoritative health information for women and those in underrepresented communities. As an information professional and Black woman, she recognizes the importance of health information literacy and brings this to the forefront of her teaching and research. At the center of her research are women’s chronic health illnesses, particularly endometriosis, and the dissemination of timely and accurate health information to African American women (https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0953-5436).

Cearra N. Harris is a Doctoral candidate, Research Assistant, and Adjunct Instructor in the University of South Carolina’s Library and Information Science program. In addition, she is a Presidential Fellow at the University of South Carolina, an American Library Association Spectrum Doctoral Fellow, and a 2023–2024 SEC Emerging Scholar. Her research interests include trauma-informed community development, social justice in librarianship, and the information and resource-seeking behaviors of BIPOC communities. Before beginning her studies, she worked diligently as a librarian to create programs and initiatives that focused on the immediate needs of marginalized groups.

Mandi Lyn Harris is a Cherokee Nation citizen. She is pursuing a PhD at the University of Washington Information School, where her research uses Indigenous Systems of Knowledge to examine children’s literature and the future of public libraries. She has a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Washington. She has over a decade of experience working in youth services at public libraries.

Tori Hopper is the Children’s and Teen Services Program Coordinator at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library in Columbus, Mississippi. She earned her Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she served as Library and Information Studies Student Association Vice President. She serves as the Book Reviews Editor of Mississippi Libraries, a peer-reviewed journal by the Mississippi Library Association. Her professional interests include the roles of diversity, equity, and accessibility within library collection development and readers’ advisory.

Annisija W. Hunter just landed her first full-time library job at South Dakota State University as a Reference & Instruction Assistant Librarian. Her research interests include health information equity and data equity. When she’s not at the library she enjoys growing vegetables, biking around town with her family, and eating chocolate.

Amanda M. Leftwich is the Student Success Librarian and Assistant Professor at Montgomery County Community College. She received her M.S.L.S. in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a M.A. in Human Development from Fielding Graduate University. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in human development at Fielding Graduate University. Her research focus includes fandom, mindfulness, reflective practice, communities of practice, and effective peer review within librarianship. Her teaching focus includes accessibility, embedded librarianship, and collaboration with faculty through liaison programs. Her co-edited book, Building Our Own: Critiques, Narratives, and Practices by Community College Library Workers of Color published with Library Juice Press in 2024.

Rae Mancilla, Executive Director of the Office of Online Learning for the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, is an active educator and scholar, with over 15 years of experience in instructional design, curriculum development, project management, and assessment. Her research interests include instructional designers’ professional development, digital accessibility, and program evaluation. She is a certified Peer Reviewer of online courses for Quality Matters, Bilingual Peer Evaluator for the Middle States Commission for Higher Education, an Invited Scholar for the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction, and a Quality Matters Research Colleague.

Alejandra S. Méndez Irizarry (she/her/hers/ella) is a Puerto Rican librarian who migrated to Massachusetts in 2020. She holds an MIS and an EdD from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. She currently works as the Coordinator of Library Services at Middlesex Community College, Lowell Campus. Her research interest includes the experiences of Latinx academic librarians, decolonial praxis in curriculum studies, and the experiences of women (cis and trans) in video gaming, the latter being the focus of her doctoral dissertation.

Julia Burns Petrella is an Instruction Librarian and Adjunct Instructor at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. She received master’s and doctoral degrees in Library and Information Science (LIS) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and her research focuses on youth services and school librarianship, LIS curricula and pedagogy, and the significance of race, racism, and whiteness in LIS. She was a co-recipient of the 2022 American Association of School Librarians Research Grant and a 2024 recipient of the Alice Lohrer Award for Literature and Library Services for Youth.

Marcia Rapchak, EdD, is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Information Culture and Data Stewardship Department at the School of Computing and Information at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teaches in the Masters of Library and Information Science program. Her research and teaching interests are in academic libraries, instructional design, and critical librarianship. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Library and Information Services in Distance Learning, the Journal of Radical Librarianship, and the Journal of Academic Librarianship, among others. In 2021, she was recognized with the Beta Phi Mu award from the American Library Association.

Mallary Rawls (she/her) is a Humanities Librarian at Florida State University. She works with the English Department, African American Studies, and Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies programs. Her research interests include critical information studies, critical librarianship, African American literature, and American history. She was a diversity resident at Florida State University libraries from 2018 to 2020.

LaTesha Velez is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro Library and Information Science (LIS) program. After working in libraries off and on since 1994, she is now focused on teaching new professionals to thrive in a growingly diverse and globalized field. She critically examines and contextualizes information in society and the role of information institutions in society. Her goals are to contribute theoretical research that centralizes the experiences of marginalized people and provide information for LIS practitioners to make positive changes toward increasing equity, diversity, inclusion, and access within the LIS profession.

Kellee E. Warren is Associate Professor and Special Collections Librarian at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her most recent article, “Jean Blackwell Hutson: Black Women’s Leadership in Librarianship and Archives,” a biographical analysis, was published in the May 2022 special issue of Libraries: Culture, History, and Society, 6(1). Her article on an approach to archival instruction with colonial collections, “Reimagining Special Collections Instruction: A Special Case of Haiti” was published in The American Archivist, fall/winter 2020 edition. Her research interests include critical pedagogies, digital humanities, and oral history (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6602-3446).

Teneka Williams, Master of Library and Information Science, has 15 years of library service in Accessibility, Outreach, and Reference. Currently, she works as the ALA Spectrum Program Assistant, Teaching Assistant, and has a small flower shop in SW Atlanta, Royal Petals ATL. As a professional Librarian, the years spent working with marginalized communities sparked her advocacy. She is committed to dismantling the invisible framework of racism that continues to suppress black voices that speak to black leadership in white spaces.