Researching African American Women’s History

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter examines the ways in which library and information science scholarship can document African American women’s history—including the history of the field itself—through publication of biographies, bibliographies, and historical texts.

Methodology/approach

Through the author’s experiences, this chapter explores the roles of libraries, special collections, professional associations, journals, conferences, and academic and independent publishers in the production and dissemination of literature about African American women’s history.

Findings

The chapter emphasizes the importance of mentors and fellow scholars in the pursuit of historical research of populations that are often neglected in scholarship.

Citation

Sims-Wood, J. (2016), "Researching African American Women’s History", Celebrating the James Partridge Award: Essays Toward the Development of a More Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable Field of Library and Information Science (Advances in Librarianship, Vol. 42), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 33-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0065-283020160000042004