Choosing to Lead: The Motivational Factors of Underrepresented Minority Librarians in Higher Education

“The stories offered here provide authentic and personal views, from highly diverse perspectives, about why one might pursue management or leadership positions in LIS, the challenges that people from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups face when they attempt to enter that landscape, and practical strategies for developing oneself to ensure success.”

— from the Foreword by Mark A. Puente, director of diversity and leadership programs at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)

Why does a person choose to lead in an environment where she or he is traditionally labeled “the minority”? Over the years, many library researchers have found that underrepresented minority librarians leave the profession for various reasons: microaggressions, discrimination, burnout, lack of opportunity. But some of these academic librarians both stay in the profession and are motivated to become leaders.

Choosing to Lead: The Motivational Factors of Underrepresented Minority Librarians in Higher Education takes a positive inquiry approach by providing first-hand accounts of success stories, best practices, and practical advice from a collection of diverse authors. Instead of looking at academic library “failures” when it comes to diversifying the leadership workforce, this book highlights what’s going right and how to implement it across the profession—with an emphasis on building strengths and fully leveraging one’s interests, behaviors, and passions, while never ignoring or deemphasizing the prevailing challenges that exist for diverse LIS professionals who wish to advance their leadership skills. Through case studies, promising practices, and specific strategies for cultivating diversity in academic library leadership, this is a resource for both librarians of color who wish to seek leadership positions and current library leaders who want to nurture these future leaders.