Black Excellence: Dr. E.J. Josey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._J._Josey
Elonnie J. Josey (January 20, 1924 – July 3, 2009) was an African-American activist and librarian. Josey was the first chair of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, having been instrumental in its formation in 1970; served as president of the American Library Association from 1984 to 1985; and was the author of over 400 books and other publications.[1]
Immediately after graduating from library school in 1953, Josey was recruited into a position in a branch library at the Free Library of Philadelphia by Emerson Greenaway.[16][17] With support from his minister, Reverend Leon Sullivan, Josey successfully advocated to be transferred to a position that could make use of his master’s degree in history as part of the social science section.[18] Unfortunately, Josey experienced racism from existing staff with lesser credentials who resented his advanced degree and the ability to answer questions from patrons that his colleagues could not answer, and he was assigned clerical tasks beneath his abilities.[18] As a result, Josey stayed just one year at the Free Library before deciding to leave the profession, accepting a position as a history instructor in social sciences at Savannah State College in Savannah, Georgia, where he remained for one year.[19]
Josey was recruited into the position of assistant professor and Director of the Library at Delaware State College in Dover, Delaware in September, 1955 as part of a re-accreditation effort, and was able to obtain certification for the library two years later.[20] A major initiative was the “Library Culture Program”, which featured authors such as Langston Hughes, Kay Boyle, and Elizabeth Vroman.[21] He remained at Delaware State until 1959. In this position Josey also began his career as an author,[22] writing a series of articles while in the position about library management, library accreditation, and library use.[20] He also began his first position as editor, of the Delaware Library Association Bulletin—the first African American in the role.[23] In recognition of Josey’s many accomplishments in the state, he was appointed to a statewide school librarian certification revision committee by the Delaware State Department of Public Instruction.[23] While at Delaware, Josey also met and married Dorothy Johnson and became a father to Elaine Jacqueline Josey, his only child.[23]
In 1959, Josey was invited to return to Savannah State College by the president to oversee the building of a new library facility, and he served as chief librarian and associate professor there until 1996.[24] During Josey’s tenure, he implemented two programs that “attracted large numbers of whites into the Savannah State College campus for the first time”; as a result, the library was recognized in 1962 and 1964 by the American Library Association‘s John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations award.[25] Josey was also able to increase library circulation from 20 to 39 percent as the result of a multi-year summer reading program to improve incoming students’ independent reading.[25] Josey was the faculty advisor for the debate team and Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, and supported students’ founding of a local chapter of the NAACP.[26]
In 1966, Josey joined the New York State Education Department in its Division of Library Development as an Associate in the Bureau of Academic and Research Libraries. In this position he “developed and improved services for the 216 academic and research libraries in New York.[27] In 1968 he was promoted to Chief of the Bureau of Academic and Research Libraries and held that position until 1976 when he was appointed Chief, Bureau of Specialist Library Services, New York State Library. While in these roles, Josey implemented the New York State interlibrary loan system, providing access to 72,000 libraries around the world.[28]