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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The purpose of this study is to probe biased library and information science (LIS) presumptions of digital divides among U.S. immigrants. The stance of the foreign-born as “digital immigrants” departs from migration and population research which hold that gaps in immigrant Internet and technology access are rapidly closing, even when accounting for immigrant type. The research is based on analysis of the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data. Black immigrant households’ ICT device and Internet access were determined and then compared to those of the general population. Findings suggest that Black immigrant households primarily access the Internet through smartphone and laptop devices along with mobile and at-home hi-speed Internet plans. When compared to the general population, Black immigrant households demonstrate significantly greater smartphone access, and they maintain comparable levels of hi-speed Internet and computer/laptop device access. This study adds to a growing body of research on the narrowing digital divide gap among U.S. immigrants. Immigrants rely on the Internet to transition and integrate into U.S. society.

Purpose After the closing of four of the five historically Black college and university (HBCU)–based library and information science (LIS) graduate programs (leaving only that of North Carolina Central University), there is a need to revitalize HBCU-LIS degree program pathways to increase racial diversity in LIS education. Design/methodology/approach This mixed-methods study entails survey and interview research with HBCU librarians. The researchers explored participants’ professional experiences and perspectives on creating partnerships between HBCU institutions and LIS graduate programs. Findings Participants demonstrated substantial experience, expressed high levels of job satisfaction, viewed pipeline programs favorably and believed that LIS can be strengthened through the inclusion of HBCU educational practices and students. Practical implications This study provides recommendations and a model for forging culturally competent and reciprocal HBCU–LIS degree program partnerships. Social implications Community-led knowledge of HBCUs can disrupt rescue and deficiency narratives of these institutions. Such prejudices are detrimental to HBCU-LIS degree program partnerships. Originality/value Past HBCU-LIS degree program pipeline partnerships did not culminate in research or published best practices. This paper presents literature-derived and community-sourced guidelines along with a model for future initiatives.

This study examines the information behavior of Black immigrants in the United States and specifically investigates possible linkages between information overload and acculturative stress. Focus groups were conducted with African, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latinx immigrants in Florida. When analyzed according to Jaeger and Burnett’s theory of information worlds (Burnett and Jaeger, 2011; Jaeger and Burnett, 2010), the data supports that participants experience information overload as a result of the voluminous and dispersed nature of information in the US; perceptions of belonging and transnationality; and undertaking high-stakes tasks such as immigration procedures, finding employment, and understanding cultural norms. Participants felt that the large, stratified, and complex US information landscape can prompt stress. Since information overload poses a barrier to immigrant social inclusion, it can be interpreted as acculturative stress.