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Immigrants are essential library constituents. This article presents the outcomes of a pilot, self-paced mini-course to introduce US immigrants to the library and information science (LIS) field. Data from student assessment and focus groups suggest that, with curricular and design improvements, the mini-course can help recruit skilled or degreed immigrants to the LIS profession. The Careers in Libraries for Immigrants project can serve as a model for justice-oriented partnerships among community members, educators, and professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to LIS research, the U.S. library and information science field reflects more than 135 years of white racialized, monocultural pedagogy. Critical race theory helps us understand why Blacks remain on the margins of the LIS profession. Armed with critical racial knowledge, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association embarked on a three-year project to assert Black culture in a profession that has historically overpowered other ways of knowing. This article chronicles how BCALA leaders gleaned from Black-centered pedagogical traditions, data on Black MLIS students' needs, and the critical race theory tenet of counterstorytelling to scaffold a national, online Black MLIS student organization that exists autonomously from mainstream U.S. LIS programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have trained Black librarians and strengthened the library profession since 1927 when the first HBCU-based library school was founded at Hampton University. However, HBCU professors, library directors, and alumni are often overlooked in conversations on librarian professionalization. In this article, four distinguished HBCU-affiliated library leaders provide critical perspectives on LIS practice. Their collective insight illustrates the value of HBCUs in LIS and demonstrates opportunities for new directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article revisits Rosemary DuMont's 1986 articles on Black librarianship and racial attitudes in LIS. The first part addresses missing or limited coverage on the library schools at five historically Black colleges and universities: Alabama A&M University, Clark Atlanta University, University of the District of Columbia, Hampton University, and North Carolina Central University. The second part provides examples of biases in accreditation as it relates to HBCU-based LIS programs. The article closes with a discussion on the erasure of HBCUs in LIS education, despite their important contributions to racial and ethnic representation and inclusion in the library professions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This demographic study contributes to scholarship on the recruitment of Blacks into the US LIS workforce by situating Black librarianship within broader population trends. The research combines historical LIS reports, Africana studies scholarship, and federal data to describe how long-term transitions in the overall US Black population influence LIS. Issues pertaining to middle-class job prospects, higher education attainment, and immigration are investigated. A review of varied evidence suggests that librarianship as a career option remains largely out of sight or out of reach for many Blacks. The article provides recommendations for LIS leaders to achieve synergized recruitment and inclusion efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This perspective essay explores Gasman & Arroyo's (2014) HBCU-inspired framework for Black student success as a prism for re-envisioning LIS education. In response to calls for anti-hegemonic LIS education, the authors discuss a potential tool for Black student success and suggest its benefits to LIS education. The framework can introduce non-white, anti-racist educational practices to the work of educating the U.S. library workforce; it is relevant in light of ongoing racial and political strife in U.S. society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Immigration dominates much of the current US sociopolitical discourse. The research on US-based immigrant information behavior, however, remains scant. To understand the role of information in immigration, this study explores information overload among Black immigrants in the US. Design/methodology/approach: The researcher developed a literature-derived information overload scale to investigate participants' information access along with experiences and response to information overload. Findings: Results suggest that participants experience information overload due to behavioral (e.g. the demands of needing, seeking, or using information), quantitative (i.e. volume or length), and qualitative (e.g. authority, diversity, or urgency) indicators. Most participants mitigate information overload by turning to intermediaries and filtering resources. Research limitations/implications: The information overload scale can advance knowledge of the role of information in immigrant acculturative stress. Social implications: LIS researchers and practitioners can utilize findings to foster social inclusion and well-being among immigrants. Originality/value: Scholarship on immigrant information behavior must reflect the centrality of information in migration and how it shapes integration and acculturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to improve understanding of the societal problem of the deepening digital divide by establishing and testing an integrated conceptual framework for digital divide research.Design/methodology/approach The authors established the integrated conceptual framework after synthesizing the literature, and then tested the framework by conducting a secondary analysis of a 2014-2015 data set comprised of 398 survey responses and nine interviews with Chinese migrant workers.Findings The results showed that Chinese migrant workers were partially e-included in the digital society. However, they encountered material, cognitive, motivational, and social access limitations due to the lack of financial, material, educational, psychological, interpersonal, and cognitive resources, which caused them to experience a digital divide. Findings support the use of the integrative model as a potential analytical framework to understand and address digital inequalities.Originality/value This study first proposed an integrative framework to understand the measurements and causes of the digital divide and then empirically tested its feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]