Final Call for Essays: Black Women in Librarianship: Voices from the African Diaspora
Please Note: We want to emphasize that the scope of this volume is international. In other words, this volume aims to include the achievements and accomplishments from Black women librarians from all over the world, from any country, any nation, and any continent.
Greetings,
Thanks so much to everyone who submitted essays for inclusion in Black Women in Librarianship: Voices from the African Diaspora. The updated call for submissions (below) has been extended with the new deadline of July 23, 2025:
Call for Essays: Black Women in Librarianship: Voices from the African Diaspora
We are pleased to announce that Rowman & Littlefield (Bloomsbury) has approved a proposal for Black Women in Librarianship: Voices from the African Diaspora. This collection of essays will highlight the achievements and contributions of Black women in librarianship from all over the world, from any country, any nation, and any continent. The co-editors for this volume are Jahala Simuel and Michele Fenton.
Jahala has co-written several chapters on librarianship including: "Beyond the Spectrum: Examining Black Recruitment Efforts in Libraries in the New Millennium," in The 21st-Century Black Librarian in America: Issues and Challenges; and "Rethinking Black MLIS Student Recruitment: A Call to Action," in The Black Librarian in America: Reflections, Resistance, and Reawakening.
Michele recently served as a co-editor for The Handbook of Black Librarianship, Third Edition. Michele has co-written "We Need Some Color Up Here: Educating and Recruiting Minority Librarians in Indiana," in The 21st-Century Black Librarian in America: Issues and Challenges; and "Leading While Black: Are We Up for the Challenge?," in The Black Librarian in America: Reflections, Resistance, and Reawakening.
We welcome submissions highlighting the achievements and contributions in the following areas. However, if there is an area not listed here that you believe deserves coverage, please feel free to submit an essay about that area:
- Academic Libraries
- Advocacy, Outreach, and Programming
- Entrepreneurship
- Library Associations
- LIS Education
- Non-profit Organizations
- Museums, Galleries, and Archives
- Podcasting, Blogging, and Social Media
- Public Libraries
- School Libraries
- Special Libraries
- State and National Libraries
- Technology
- Writing, Editing, Publishing, and Bookselling
Your essay can focus on one area or multiple areas. Also, the contributions to these areas can either be at the local, state, national, international level, or multiple levels. Essays can focus on librarians who are deceased or living. Authors may write about their own contributions to the library profession if they wish. Furthermore, the librarians you write about do not have to be degreed librarians. In addition, authors may submit more than one essay.
Criteria:
Essays should be between 2,500 and 3,500 words; Times New Roman, 12-point font; double-spaced; have works cited according to MLA 9th edition; and submitted in Microsoft Word. Authors may include pictures, tables, and graphs with their chapters if desired.
Submissions should include your name, email address, cell number, and a 3-to-4-line biography.
Submission Deadline: July 23, 2025
Email submissions to: Library1915@gmail.com
We are looking forward to your reply and submissions.
Sincerely,
Jahala Simuel and Michele Fenton, editors
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Michele Fenton
Librarian I/Cataloger
Indiana State Library
Indianapolis, IN
mfenton@library.in.gov(317) 234-4937
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