College and Research Libraries African American Male Library Administrators in Public and Academic Libraries Patricia Ball This study is designed to investigate the status of African American male library administrators who occupy administrative positions in academic and public libraries. African American male library administrators have distinctive demographic characteristics, educational backgrounds, pro- fessional characteristics, career patterns, and perceptions. A total of sixty-five African American male administrators were identified and mailed questionnaires. Race was identified in previous studies as a perceived barrier to professional advancement. The findings of this study corrobo- rate earlier studies of African American professionals. n many professions, White males dominate at the execu- tive and management levels. This pattern is also prevalent in the executive suites of librarianship. Since the early 1930s, studies relating to characteristics of library administrators have been conducted. Gender-based stud- ies in library science conclude that men are the basic beneficiaries in the profes- sion and have the most prestigious jobs; however, the results give no indication as to whether these characteristics apply to minority men, in particular, African American men. Many studies examine the gender of library administrators and directors in both public and academic settings. The same conclusions are drawn from the majority of these studies. Basically, in li- brarianship, men have benefited with re- gard to salaries and managerial positions. Previous studies indicate that women di- rectors are found in greater numbers at smaller, private institutions. Male direc- tors are usually younger than femal~ di- rectors. Male directors display a trend of high mobility, which is viewed as ave- hicle to becoming directors at an earlier age than females become directors~ Fe- males, because of family responsibilities, are not as mobile. However, research shows that females have a better chance of becoming directors of libraries if they have been employed internally at the same library for a number of years. In- vestigations show that the salaries of women directors, on average, are much lower than those of their male counter- parts. Statistics also point to the fact that White females have benefited the most from programs such as affirmative action. For the most part, administrative po- sitions in librarianship are distinguished Patricia Ball, Ph.D., is a former Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia; e-mail: patball@delphi.com. 531 ~---------------------------------------------------------------- -------------. 532 College & Research Libraries as positions of high status and power, with the director or chief of the library being at the apex. According to Stanley Eitzen, one of the characteristics of status that has an important influence on social identity, is the tendency for positions in Basically, in librarianship, men have benefited with regard to salaries and managerial positions. organizations to be differentially re- warded and esteemed.1 African American males, as well as other minorities, have both ascribed sta- tus and achieved status. Ascribed status is defined by Eitzen as a social position based on such factors as age, race, and family over which the individual has no control. Achieved status is a position in a social organization attained through per- sonal effort.Z According to Eitzen, this is status inconsistency: A Black physician, for example, has high occupational sta- tus in American society but ranks low on the racial dimension of status. Such indi- viduals are accepted and treated accord- ing to their high status by some, while others ignore the occupational dimension and consider only their race.3 The structure of social institutions plays an important part in determining African Americans' status. Their status re- sults from race relations that have devel- oped within social institutional struc- tures. Beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions are products of the structure of society and its race relations, as well as determi- nants of those relations. 4 African American Male Librarians African American males have long been participants in the library profession. Al- though the literature does not provide a composite profile of Black male library administrators, it does chronicle the path of African American males into executive suites of librarianship. Librarians such as Daniel Alexander Payne Murray, S.W. Stark, Daniel A.P. Murray, George Wash- November 1995 ington Forbes, Edward Christopher Wil- liams, J. Arthur Jackson, Richard T. Greener, and Thomas Fountain Blue are some of the historical ground breakers for African American males in library admin- istration. Black men have risen to posi- tions of accomplishment in the library profession despite enormous social ob- stacles. More recently in the twentieth century, the author finds numerous African American males who have made signifi- cant contributions to librarianship. In 1932, Arthur A. Schomburg was named curator of the New York Public Library research collection, which later was named for him. Arna Bontemps was ap- pointed in 1943 as university librarian of Fisk University. He was the first African American to serve in this position. In 1968 E. J. Josey became chief of the Bureau of Academic and Research Libraries of the New York State Education Department and the first elected Black male president of ALA. Hardy Franklin, director of the District of Columbia Public Library, was elected president of ALA for the 1993- 1994 term, becoming the second African American male to be elected to that posi- tion.5 The literature documents event af- ter event of African American males who crossed over into the executive suites of librarianship. Research Design Using descriptive, analytical, and survey methods, the author conducted this study to ascertain the status of African Ameri- can male administrators in academic and public libraries. To identify the popula- tion for the study, The American Library Directory, The Directory of Ethnic Profession- als in Library and Information Science, and The Black Caucus of the American Library Association Membership Directory were used.6-10 The author identified sixty-five African American male administrators for the study, and verified their current posi- tions and places of employment by tele- phone. In an effort to gather information on the status, demographic characteristics, and perceptions of African American male library administrators, the survey instrument addressed three major ques- tions: 1) What characteristics describe African American male administrators in the profession? 2) What is the status of African American male administrators in the profession? and 3) Are there percep- tions of discrimination among African American male administrators in the pro- fession? Demographic Characteristics Sixty respondents returned their ques- tionnaires, for a total return rate of 92.3 percent. The majority of African Ameri- can male library administrators (45.5%) responding to this survey were born in southern states. The majority (44.4%) of African American male library adminis- trators are between forty-six and fifty-five years of age, married (53.9%), and have no children (42.3%). However, it is inter- esting to note that none of the respon- dents was under twenty-five years of age or over sixty-six years of age. The aver- age number of children for the group as a whole is 1.4, with the total number of children ranging from one to five. African American male library admin- istrators are basically from middle-class to lower-middle-class backgrounds. A to- tal of 31.5 percent of respondents catego- rized their mother's occupation as "homemaker." The majority of the re- spondents' fathers (48.1 %) were em- ployed in a blue-collar profession. "Ser- vice worker" was listed as the second largest category for mothers (18.5%). "Other" is the way many respondents described their fathers' professions (25.5%). The majority of African American male library administrators participating in the survey attended predominantly Black un- dergraduate colleges (63.6%) in a south- ern state (40%). Morehouse College (36.3%) was the most frequently cited un- African American Males 533 dergraduate institution. Respondents at- tending non-Black institutions comprised 36.4 percent of responses to this item on the survey. Social sciences (25.5%) was the field that the majority of respondents listed most frequently as their under- graduate major. Fewer of the respondents majored in law (1.8%) or in a physical sci- ence (1.5%). Career Patterns For the majority of African American male library administrators in this survey, librarianship was not the first career choice (75.9%). Librarianship was the first career choice for only 24.1 percent of re- spondents. Teaching was the career of choice for the majority of respondents (16.4%), followed by medicine (12%). Re- spondents participating in this study at- tended a variety of library schools. Twenty-four different library schools were listed. However, the most com- monly listed library school was Clark Atlanta University, with 30.9 percent of respondents having received their mas- ter of library science there. The Universi- ties of Pittsburgh and Illinois were the li- brary schools listed most frequently after Clark Atlanta. The decision to attend li- brary school was made immediately by 44.4 percent of the respondents. Only one respondent did not go to library school. Administrators responding to the study were highly educated. A large per- centage (41.8%) of the respondents pos- ... the most commonly listed library school was Clark Atlanta University, with 30.9 percent of respondents having received their master of library science there. sessed earned doctoral degrees. A larger percentage (45.5%) had earned a master's degree and three (9.1 %) have two master's degrees. Only two of the respon- dents (3.6%) stated that their highest de- gree was a baccalaureate degree. Thirteen (23.6%) of the respondents returning their 534 College & Research Libraries questionnaires indicated that they had advanced degrees in other fields. The salary for the majority of respon- dents fell into two categories. Most re- spondents listed their salaries as either $35,001-$40,000 or over $65,000 (20.4%). The salary range listed most often after the previously mentioned two ranges, was that of $40,001-$45,000, with 14.8 percent of the respondents listing this category. This category was followed by $45,001-$50,000 (13%) and $55,001- $60,000 (13%). ~ased on this study, African American male library administrators have re- mained in their current positions for an average of 8.6 years (the median is five years, and the mode is one year). Over half of the respondents (twenty-nine to- tal) had been in their present positions for one to five years (53.8%). At least seven (13.1 %) respondents said that they were in their current positions for six to ten years. Only one (1.9 percent) respondent marked the twenty-six-to-thirty-year cat- egory. African American males became ad- ministrators at an average age of 29.8 years. The mode was twenty-eight years of age and the median was twenty-nine years of age. The majority of respondents, twenty-five (46.3%) in all, responded that they first became administrators between the ages of twenty-six and thirty. The ma- jority of African American male library administrators (72.3%) responding to this survey held other administrative posi- tions in the profession. Only thirteen (25.9%) had not held other library admin- istrative positions. Prior to their current positions, study participants had held, on average, 2.5 administrative positions. Respondents who had occupied other administrative positions in librarianship had been in a variety of positions. Some had occupied more than one administra- tive position. Others had worked at sev- eral of the same types of positions; for ex- ample, one respondent had previously oc- cupied two positions as dean of the li- November 1995 brary, and one as head of an undergradu- ate library, associate director, and direc- tor of library services. Positions held by these administrators also ranged over a number of years, with the least amount of time at a previous position being one year and the most time fifteen years. Re- spondents participating in this study had held an average of 2.5 administrative po- sitions in librarianship before being ap- pointed to their present positions. Many African American males in the profession had occupied other top posi- tions in other fields. Of the respondents in this study, twelve or 22.2 percent were in administrative positions in other pro- fessional fields. A total of fifty-four re- spondents answered this question on the questionnaire. The majority of respon- dents, forty-two total (77.7%), had not worked in administrative positions in other fields. Librarians have most influenced Afri- can American males to pursue librarian- ship as a career. Fifty-one respondents responded to this item on the instrument. Of those responding, eleven listed "self- initiative" in response to this question. Respondents listing "other" to this ques- tion totaled 15.7 percent. "Friends" (9.8%), "relatives" (3.9%), and "teachers" (7.8%) were listed as also having influ- enced career choices. The majority of re- spondents, thirty-six total (65.5%), had been employed in libraries while attend- ing college. Of the respondents who had worked in a library while attending col- lege, twenty-five (46.3%), had been em- ployed in an academic library. A smaller portion of respondents, seven (13%), had worked in a public library, and three (5.5%) had worked in a special library while attending college. None of there- spondents had been employed in a school library while in college. African American males had high ca- reer expectations. The questionnaire asked respondents attending library school to describe the position they hoped to obtain. The responses were divided into two categories: administrative and staff. A total of fifty respondents an- swered this question on the question- naire. Of those, twenty-nine (58 %) re- sponded that their goal was to obtain an administrative position, while twenty- one (42 %) responded that their goal was to obtain a staff position. The majority of the respondents, forty-three (79.6%), re- ceived some type of financial assistance while attending library school. "Enjoy- able" and "a noble profession" are the words African American males used in describing their love for librarianship. "It is a field that empowers people through providing information," said one respon- dent. Another stated, "I love it!" Item 24 on the questionnaire asked respondents, "If you were to make the initial career decision again, would you choose librari- anship?" Over half of the respondents, forty-five (81.8 %), said they would choose librarianship as their first career choice. Only six (10.9 %) of the respondents re- plied no. African American Male Library Administrators' Status What is the status of African American male library administrators in the profes- sion? Despite the low number of African American males in the profession, those in administrative positions are considered to be in top administrative positions. The majority of respondents participating in this study are directors of libraries. Over half of the respondents, twenty-eight (51.9 %), are in this position. The second largest category was that of" other." Four- teen (16.7 percent) administrators re- sponded to this category. There were two respondents who are presently in the po- sition of associate director (3 .7%), one assistant director (1.9 %) and nine branch heads (16.7%). The fourteen respondents who categorized their positions as "other" listed their current titles as the fol- lowing: head librarian and assistant di- rector of Learning Resource Center; head librarian; branch manager; executive di- African American Males 535 rector; regional librarian; administrative services librarian; deputy director; state librarian; dean of libraries; area adminis- trator; assistant dean of instructional re- sources; dean; assistant deputy director; and director and professor of law. African American male library admin- istrators were asked to rate their percep- tions of opportunities in the profession for African American males. Space was provided on the questionnaire for respon- dents to make additional comments. A total of twenty-five (45.45 %) of the re- ... although some respondents rated opportunities ... as being "good" for African American males, their comments underscored racial prejudice as a problem in the profession. spondents made additional comments. Most African American males perceived opportunities to be "very good" or "fair." The total number of respondents who rated opportunities as "fair" or "very good" was sixteen for each category (29.1 %). An interesting observation is that although some respondents rated oppor- tunities in the profession as being good for African American males, their com- ments underscored racial prejudice as a problem in the profession. For example, one respondent who described opportu- nities for African American males as "good" commented: "Related to commu- nities with significant percentage of mi- nority population, racism will continue to restrict opportunities." Only eight (14.5 %) of the fifty-five respondents de- scribed opportunities as "excellent" for African American males. Other respon- dents listed opportunities in the profes- sion as "very good" (29.1 %); "fair" (29.1 %); "good" (21.8%); or "poor" (5.5 %). Comments made by the majority of respondents centered on four issues in librarianship. The first issue involved sex- ism. Respondents made several com- ments that described the sentiments of 536 College & Research Libraries this minority in the profession. One re- spondent said: "Opportunities always ex- ist for outstanding professionals, regard- less of sex; although males often rise dis- proportionately to administrative posi- tions." A similar comment was made by another respondent who indicated that, '1n the current job market, African Ameri- can males must compete with well-pre- pared, highly competent black and white females for scarce administrative profes- sional positions .... " A second issue addressed by many of the respondents involved racial prejudice and discrimination in the profession. To better illustrate what the general consen- sus is pertaining to this issue in librari- anship, one of the respondents summed it up by stating: "African Americans still face institutional racism toward blacks in upper management in some areas of li- brarianship." A similar comment by a re- spondent also reflects this sentiment: "Racism and prejudice still exist but are much more subtle now." One respondent said, "In general, this profession gives a lot of lip service about affirmative action and equal opportunity, but ... for Afri- can American males there are still many barriers to advancement, especially rapid advancement." A third issue that surfaced from the comments made by respondents centered on limited opportunities within the pro- fession for African American m'!-les. This was expressed by one respondent when he said, "Advancement up the ladder is too slow. African American males are not provided the opportunities offered to their non-Black colleagues, i.e., Librarian of Congress, Librarian-Kennedy Center, Pentagon Librarian, etc." This sentiment was expressed differently by another re- spondent who said, "They seem to be nonexistent." Along these same lines, an- other said, "I would argue that opportu- nities are limited," while another respon- dent commented that "Within the right environment there are a number of op- portunities." November 1995 A fourth issue that surfaced from the respondents' comments involved recruit- ment and retention. Several respondents expressed their concern about the recruit- · ment and retention of qualified African American males within the profession. One respondent stated, "Now that HEA Title II B Fellowships are funded again, recruitment of minorities, especially of black males could and should be intensi- fied." Another respondent discussed the lack of African American males in librari- anship, saying that because of "the fact that not many African American males exist in the profession period, those that are seeking advancement face racial atti- tudes, location problems and other deter- rents in seeking opportunities." Onere- spondent stated," ... I am the only male Black Branch Manager in my Library Sys- tem." Such comments seem to illustrate the need for better recruitment methods and retention devices. African American males possess var- ied skills, and their opinions about what factors have influenced their professional advancement are even more varied. Sec- tion four of the instrument asked African American male library administrators to place a value on identified factors in re- gard to their importance to professional advancement. The ratings reflect that nu- merous factors have affected professional growth for respondents to this survey. This fact is also reflected in many of the comments made by African American males. For instance, one respondent said, "All these skills are important and affect the performance level of all administra- tors including African American males." The scale for this section of the ques- tionnaire was 5) very important, 4) im- portant, 3) moderately important, 2) of little importance, and 1) not at all impor- tant. The questionnaire first asked respon- dents to rate several factors: communica- tion skills, organizational skills, having political connections, willingness to relo- cate geographically, having someone as a mentor, having a strong academic back- African American Males 537 ground, having prob- !em-solving abilities, TABLEt possessing a varied Factors Related to Professional Advancement background of experi- ences, having a will- ingness to take risks; Factors N Nl1 LI MI VI Mean and having knowl- % edge of the dynamics a) Communication N 0 0 0 17 38 4.69 of library services. Skills % 0 0 0 30.9 69.1 Space was provided at b) Organizational N 0 1 3 19 32 4.49 the end of this section Skills % 0 1.8 5.5 34.5 58.2 for respondents who might want to make g) Problem N 0 0 6 24 2S 4.35 comments. A total of Solving % 0 0 10.9 43.6 45.5 twelve respondents 0 Academic N 0 0 10 2S 20 4.18 made comments in re- Background % 0 0 18.2 45.5 36.4 gard to factors that h) Varied N 1 1 8 26 19 4.11 have influenced pro- Experiences % 1.8 1.8 14.5 47.3 34.5 fessional growth (see i) Take Risks N 4 3 14 20 14 3.67 table 1). The highest- % 7.3 5.5 25.5 36.4 25.5 rated factor is commu- nication skills. Re- d) Relocate N 10 3 5 18 19 3.60 spondents' average % 18.2 5.5 9.1 32.7 34.5 response to this factor e) Mentor N 6 4 24 10 11 3.29 on a scale of one to five % 10.9 7.3 43.6 18.2 20.0 was 4.69. The impor- c) Political N 13 19 13 8 2 2.40 tance of this factor to Connections % 23.63 34.55 23.63 14.54 3.64 Based on 55 responses professional growth among this minority in the profession is re- flected in this com- ment by one of the Note: NI=Not at all Important, Ll=Of Little Importance, MI=Moderately Important, !=Important, VI=Very Important study's participants: "All other skills hinge on my ability to write and speak effectively .... " The second most important factor was organizational skills. The average rating for this factor was 4.49. Table 2 provides an illustration of the ranking of these fac- tors by participants in descending order, by mean. The lowest-rated factor for the group is political connections. Its average for the group was 2.40. Although rated low, it sparked the following comment by are- spondent: "An African American male must be aware that he has to be more as- tute, more competitive, and more politi- cally aware than his white colleague." A similar comment in regard to risk taking was made by a respondent who said, "Be- cause of the changing nature of the field, abilities such as risk-taking; adaptability and problem-solving will overcome other barriers (racism, sexism and elitism)." The final section of the questionnaire, section five, asked respondents to rate factors that may be a problem for them in their position as African American male library administrators. Respondents rated a total of seven factors: 1) having your credibility as an administrator chal- lenged because of your race, 2) lacking African American male librarians to serve as role models, 3) being stereotyped be- cause of your race, 4) competing in selec- tion processes for available positions, 5) being accepted by others as a competent 538 College & Research Libraries November 1995 TABLE2 Factors in Descending Order by Mean Factors Related to Advancement Communication Skills Organizational Skills Problem-Solving Abilities Varied Academic Background Varied Experiences Take Risks Relocate geographically Having Someone as a Mentor Political Connections Problem Factors Selection Process Old Boy Network Stereotyped Because of Race Credibility Being Challenged Lack of Role Models Competent Administrator Family Responsibilities TABLE3 Problem Factors for African American Male Administrators Factors N NP1 SP MP p SRP Mean % d) Selection N 10 11 16 9 7 2.85 Process % 18.9 20.8 30.2 17.0 13.2 f) Old Boy N 16 9 13 11 6 2.67 Network % 29.1 16.4 23.6 20.0 10.9 c) Stereotyped N 13 14 16 10 1 2.48 Race % 24.1 25.9 29.6 18.5 1.8 a) Credibility N 10 20 17 7 0 2.39 % 18.5 37.0 31.5 13.0 0 b) Lack of N 19 18 11 4 3 2.16 Role Models % 34.5 32.7 20.0 7.3 5.5 e) Competent N 16 20 14 4 1 2.16 Administrator % 29.1 36.4 25.5 7.3 1.8 g) Family N 40 6 8 0 0 1.41 Responsibilities % 74.1 11.1 14.8 0 0 Based on 55 responses Note: NP=Not a Problem, SP=Small Problem, MP_:'Moderate Problem, P=Problem, SRP=Serious Problem administrator, 6) being accepted into the "old boy network," and, finally, 7) hav- ing family responsibilities. Space was pro- vided for additional comments. A total of ten respondents made comments (see table 3). The data for this section of the questionnaire are divided into two sec- tions. The first part presents the results of the total population, while the second section divides the responses in accor- dance with which type of library cur- rently employs the respondents. Three library categories were created: Histori- cally Black/ Academic Institutions, Non- Black/ Academic Institutions, and Public and Other Institutions (state libraries, etc.) . The overall responses to these fac- tors are reflected in table 4 in descending order. Study participants rated the selection process for available positions as a factor causing the most problems for them. Prob- lem as defined by the Merriam- Webster Dictionary is "a source of perplexity or vexation." 11 The average for this factor for the overall group was 2.85. However, this factor was a problem to some degree for 81.2 percent of respondents. Only 18.9 percent of those responding rated this factor as "not a problem." This factor was followed in its rating by acceptance into the "old boy network." It was rated by 70.9 percent of respondents as posing some degree of problem. The factor that was rated the least problematic for this group involved family responsibilities. The average for this factor was 1.41, and it was not a problem for 74.1 percent of the study population. Most African American male library administrators are employed by public libraries. A total of 27.3 percent are em- ployed by historically Black academic institutions. This may account for the low- est overall mean of the factors that may be problems for this group. This fact is also reflected in comments made by sev- eral of the respondents. For example, one said, "My responses might be somewhat different if I did not work at a black insti- African American Males 539 tution. Although I am confident that I would succeed anywhere." Another re- spondent made a similar comment, say- ing, "I have worked as a library adminis- trator for the most part at historically Black universities." Of the remaining re- spondents; 29.1 percent were employed in non-Black academic institutions; 40 percent in public; and 3.6 percent in other types of institutions. When responses to problem factors are differentiated by type of institution, the average for administrators employed at the different types of institutions is sig- nificantly different. Overall, with the ex- ception of two factors, the average for those administrators at historically Black academic institutions is lower than at other types of institutions. For most African American males em- ployed by non-Black academic institu- tions (for the purposes of this study, a non- Black academic institution is defined as a predominantly White academic institu- tion) or at public and other institutions, having your credibility as an administra- tor challenged because of race is a prob- lem to some degree for most of the re- spondents. For all of the respondents at non-Black academic institutions this fac- tor presents a problem to some degree. For 60 percent it is a small problem. For 31.25 percent of respondents it is a mod- erate problem, and for 12.5 percent it is a problem. For respondents employed at public and other institutions this factor is to some degree a problem for 82.1 per- cent of the study population. It is a small or moderate problem for 30.43 percent for each category and a problem for 21.74 percent of respondents at public and other institutions. Lack of African American male librar- ians to serve as role models is the only category where the average is higher for historically Black academic institutions than for non-Black academic institutions. This factor is more of a problem for ad- ministrators serving in public and other institutions than for those in academic 540 College & Research Libraries November 1995 TABLE4 Percentage of Responses to Factors by Type of Institution Presently Employed Factors N NP SP MP p SP Mean a) Credibility His. Black 15 40 26.6 33.33 0 0 1.93 Non-Black 16 0 60 31.25 12.5 0 2.56 Public 23 17.39 30.43 30.43 21.74 0 2.56 and Other b) Lack of Role Models His. Black 15 40 33.33 13.33 6.7 6.7 2.1 Non-Black 16 43.75 25 25 6.25 0 1.93 Public 24 25 37.5 20.83 8.33 8.33 2.37 and Other c) Stereotyped Race His. Black 14 42.85 21.42 14.28 21.42 0 2.15 Non-Black 16 31.25 25 31.25 12.5 0 2.25 Public 24 8.33 29.17 37.5 20.83 4.17 2.83 and Other d) Selection Process His. Black 15 26.7 33.33 20 6.6 13.33 2.47 Non-Black 15 13.33 20 40 20 6.67 2.87 Public 23 17.39 13.04 30.43 21.74 17.39 3.09 and Other e) Competent Administrator His. Black 15 33.33 40 6.67 20 0 2.13 Non-Black 16 12.1 62.5 25 0 0 2.13 Public 24 37.5 16.67 37.5 4.17 4.17 2.21 and Other f) Old Boy Network His. Black 22 46.67 20 6.67 26.67 0 2.13 Non-Black 16 12.5 18.75 18.75 31.25 18.75 3.25 Public 24 29.17 12.5 37.5 8.73 12.5 2.62 and Other g) Family Responsibilities His. Black 15 66.67 26.67 6.67 0 0 1.4 Non-Black 16 75 0 25 0 0 1.5 Public 23 78.26 8.69 13.04 0 0 1.29 and Other Based on total number of responses to each factor. NP=Not a Problem, SP=Small Problem, MP=Moderate Problem, P=Problem, SP=Serious Problem. His. Black= Historically Black Academic Institutions, Non-Black=Non-Black Academic Institutions, Public and O ther= Public Libraries and Other. institutions. In response to this factor, one ters (we worked in different libraries). It's respondent made the following state- amazing how much you can learn just ment: " . . . I worked with a long-time male being in the vicinity. Unfortunately, I have administrator on some professional mat- not experienced much in the way of Afri- can American male or female role mod- els while on the job. Therefore, for the most part, I have not found a zone of com- fort in personal interactions with col- leagues." This reflects the need for recruit- ment and retention of qualified African American males in the profession. Respondents who marked the category of "Public and Other" have more of a problem with being stereotyped because of race than respondents at non-Black aca- demic institutions and those at histori- cally Black institutions. The mean for re- spondents at historically Black institu- tions is lower than the other two catego- ries. Generally, the character of comments made by respondents suggests that race is perceived as a problem for African American male administrators. For ex- ample, one respondent said: "All too of- ten black males are regarded as having only a limited aspiration level in terms of higher administration. At the Deputy and Director level they become viewed as un- wanted competition by females and white male administrators." Another respon- dent made a comment that helps to illus- trate these sentiments further, "Subtle and even unconscious racism is still wide- spread in the profession. It has to be con- fronted and exposed at every opportunity, but can never be used as an excuse for not accomplishing one's goals." The selection process for available po- sitions is little more than a moderate prob- lem for administrators employed by pub- lic and other institutions. This factor's average for administrators at public and other institutions was higher than for the other two categories. The mean for this factor for administrators employed at his- torically Black institutions is the lowest, 2.47. In relation to this problem, one re- spondent commented, "In the current job market, African American males must compete with well-prepared, highly competent black and white females for scarce administrative positions. This is also true for non-administrative posi- tions .... " African American Males 541 The mean (2.21 %) for African Ameri- can males at public and other institutions - for the problem factor of being accepted as a competent administrator was the highest of the three types of institutions (2.13% for both historically Black institu- tions and non-Black institutions). The extent of the impact of this factor is de- scribed by one respondent as follows: "Being accepted as a competent admin- istrator is not a problem. The problem Lack of African American male librarians to serve as role models is the only category where the average is higher for historically Black academic institutions than for non- Black academic institutions. when you are extremely competent is 'you expect too much,' 'you are hard to work for,' 'your management style is in- timidating,' etc. These are ways of say- ing 'you are good and we can't let you be perfect.' Racism is a factor and you have to constantly be aware of this." Acceptance into the "old boy network" for administrators at non-Black institu- tions had the greatest mean for all fac- tors. This factor averaged 3.25 for this group. It poses more of a special problem in librarianship. This is reflected in one comment made by a respondent: "In the library profession instead of the 'old boy' network it's the 'old gal' network. Fortu- - nately, [sic] my supervisors are veterans and tested; our focus is to provide library services where few black and white librar- ians dare or want to go. Politics beyond providing services to children is the area we want to be part of. We want more for them." Administrators at historically Black academic institutions have less of a prob- lem with this factor than their other peer colleagues. The fact that this is a serious problem is also reflected in this comment made by one participant: "Being director of my hometown public library has 542 College & Research Libraries helped to overcome some of the 'barri- ers;' i.e., acceptance into the 'old boy net- work' but I still feel the need to be 'twice as good.'" The factor dealing with family respon- sibilities causes the fewest problems for this minority. For administrators at all types of institutions this factor ranged between "not a problem" and a "small problem." The lowest mean was for ad- ministrators serving currently at public or other institutions. Overall, the two greatest problems for administrators in the profession are acceptance into the old boy network and the selection process for available positions. Comparison of Factors When looking closer at factors rated by respondents as related to professional advancement and factors identified as problems by respondents, an interesting phenomenon is observed. There is an in- verse relationship between the two groups of factors. Of relevance to these findings is a body of research in social psychology on how people explain a so- cial phenomenon. In A Common Destiny: Blacks and American Society, David Jaynes and Robin Williams explain this phenom- enon in the following way: Attribution theory focuses prima- rily on how people develop ex- planatory accounts of interpersonal behavior. The two major types of causes are external, such as an en- vironmental constraint or pressure to behave in a particular way, and internal, indicative of the underly- ing dispositions of the individual. Of course, many behaviors involve combinations of the two kinds of causes. The way in which a phe- nomenon is explained largely deter- mines the meaning it has for a per- son. An outcome lacking a system- atic, controllable cause differs from an outcome for which a clear social process or individual action can be November 1995 pinpointed as the cause. Further- more, outcomes rooted in a social force have different implications for ameliorative efforts than those rooted in a personal intention. The views of both whites and blacks may reflect what has been termed the 'fundamental attribution error.' Experimentally controlled studies of the attribution process routinely find that observers systematically overestimate the extent to which an actor's behavior is attributable to in- ternal causes and systematically un- derestimate the importance of exter- nal causes. This tendency to over at- tribute to internal causes and to be especially likely when judging a dis- liked out-group .... 12 This general psychological bias toward disposi- tional attributions when joined with possible self-interest motivations to protect a historically privileged group status may reflect a reasoned opposition of some whites to black ad vancement. 13 When observing factors in relation to their means in descending order, the range for factors related to professional advancement is from abilities or per- ceived events that are considered to be in a person's control (internal) to events that individuals have little control over (ex- ternal) (see table 5). For example, com- munication skills and organizational skills are abilities a person has some con- trol over. However, factors such as whether one has a mentor or whether one can develop political connections are not in one's own control. For instance, Her- bert Lefcourt notes: ... perceived control is referred to as a generalized expectancy of in- ternal or external control of rein- forcement. The formal terms, the generalized expectancy of internal control refers to the perception of events, whether positive or nega- African American Males 543 TABLES Problem Factors in Descending Order by Mean Factors Means Old Boy Network, Non-Black Academic Selection Process, Public and Other 3.25 3.09 2.87 2.83 2.62 2.56 2.56 2.47 2.37 2.25 2.21 2.15 2.13 2.13 2.13 2.1 1.93 1.93 1.29 1.50 1.40 Selection Process, Non-Black Academic Stereotyped Race, Public and Other Old Boy Network, Public and Other Credibility, Non-Black Academic Credibility, Public and Other Selection Process, His. Black Academic Lack of Role Models, Public and Other Stereotyped Race, Non-Black Academic Competent Administrator, Public and Other Stereotyped Race, His. Black Academic Competent Administrator, Non-Black Academic Competent Administrator, His. Black Academic Old Boy Network, His. Black Academic Lack of Role Models, His. Black Academic Credibility, His. Black Academic Lack of Role Models Non-Black Academic Family Responsibility, Public and Other Family Responsibility, Non-Black Academic Family Responsibility, His. Black Academic tive, as being a consequence of one's own actions and thereby potentially under personal control. The gener- alized expectancy of external con- trol, on the other hand, refers to the perception of positive or negative events as being unrelated to one's own behavior and therefore beyond personal control. 14 When the same observation is made of factors that are problems for respondents the same phenomenon is observed. The relationship is the inverse of those related to professional growth. These factors range from events that are not in a person's control to those that a person does have some control over. This phe- nomenon is referred to in the discipline of social psychology as the psychology of control. Scales have been developed to ascertain the degree to which people per- ceive control over events in their lives. This area in social psychology is called the "locus of control." It originally con- sisted of two main areas of control: inter- nal (person feels control of events) and external (person feels no control over events). The literature in this area asserts that many minorities feel that many events in their lives are in the control of powerful others or are external.1s-18 Per- ceived control, according to Lefcourt, is associated with access to opportunity. Per- sons who are able, through position and group membership, to attain more readily the valued outcomes that allow them to feel personal satisfaction are more likely 544 College & Research Libraries to hold internal control expectancies. Mi- nority groups, such as African Ameri- cans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans, who do not enjoy as much access to opportunity as do the pre- dominant Caucasian groups in Ameri- can society often feel in less control of events in their lives. 19 Factors rated by the respondents as causing problems for them are factors that are also documented in the literature as being problems for minorities. In 1990, Jaynes and Williams reported that the quality of employment African Ameri- cans obtain is correlated with the racial composition of their social networks. Not being accepted into the old boy network leads to poor-paying jobs, and integrated networks lead to better-paying, less seg- regated work.20 Stereotypes, according to Factors rated by the respondents as causing problems for them are also documented in the literature as being problems for minorities. Richard Lippa, unjustly portray out- groups more negatively than they portray in-groups, exaggerate group differences, and lead to unjust underestimates of the variability of people within other groups. Ethnocentrism, the belief that one's own group is superior to other groups, is fre- quently the root of such stereotypes. 21 When factors are observed by mean in de- scending order by type of institution, the same pattern is prevalent. The factors range from factors in one's control to those that are not in one's control. Table 5 lists problem factors in descending order. When factors are listed in descending or- der it appears that administrators at his- torically Black academic institutions have fewer problems than those at public or non-Black academic institutions. Doris Price, in her study "The Academic Envi- ronment As Perceived by Professional Black Personnel in Predominantly White Institutions," found that African Ameri- November 1995 cans at predominantly White institutions had perceptions of isolation and alien- ation.22 Therefore, African American li- brary administrators at public and non- Black academic settings have perceptions that are consistent with this finding. Summary Evidence found from this study can be used to provide a basic profile of African American male library administrators. The study also provides basic demo- graphic information that characterizes this minority in the profession. It chronicles the career paths to current po- sitions for these administrators. The study explores the decision to become a librar- ian and the factors that influenced the decision. Finally, it gives this minority the opportunity to document its perceptions of opportunities for African American males in the profession. Race relations and opportunities for African Americans and other minorities in the United States have greatly im- proved. However, many of the respon- dents identified race as a factor continu- ing to hinder professional advancement. In their comments, many of the respon- dents also made reference to racism as a problem when asked to rate factors that may have affected their professional ad- vancement. The identification of racism as a problem by those who participated in the study is a manifestation of how pervasively racism affects these profes- sionals. There is a need for more aware- ness of this problem. Therefore, there is a need for more programs to ensure equal opportunity for all African American males because they represent a distinct minority within the profession. These fifty-five African American librarians represent the gender that occupies the most prestigious positions within the pro- fession. However, they also represent a racial minority of an underrepresented group in the profession. There are char- acteristics that are unique to this minor- ity in the profession. This study makes a beginning attempt at identifying some of the distinctive career patterns, demo- graphic characteristics, and perceptions. Additional studies should focus on this group and other racial minorities within the profession. In the early 1970s, the recruitment and retention of minorities in the profession of librarianship was a top priority. How- ever, this is no longer the case, as other issues have taken higher priority. 23 This state of affairs is serious in light of the changing demographics of the United States. By the year 2000, more than one- third of the U.S. population will be people of color. These changing demographics African American Males 545 of America warrant that recruitment and retention of people of color in all profes- sions, including librarianship, be a top priority. Earlier efforts in the recruitment of mi- norities made by ALA have obviously not succeeded. Efforts, such as ALA's program of Each One Reach One, have resulted in only minuscule increases in minority recruitment to the profession. 24 Facilitating recruitment of qualified mi- norities to the profession will take a con- certed effort by all elements within the profession working together with ALA, the library and information science schools, and the libraries of the nation. Notes 1. Stanley D. Eitzen, In Conflict and Order: Understanding Society (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1988), 20. 2. Ibid., 589. 3. Ibid., 100. 4. David Gerald Jaynes and Robin M. Williams Jr., A Common Destiny: Blacks and American Society (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Pr., 1989), 47. 5. E. J. Josey and Ann Allen Shockley, camps., A Handbook of Black Librarianship (Littleton, Colo.: Librarians Unlimited, 1977), 15-24. 6. American Library Association, American Library Directory 1990-1991, 43rd ed., vol. 2 (New Providence, N.J.: ALA, 1990). 7. American Library Association, American Library Directory 1991-1992,44th ed. vol. 2 (New Providence, N.J.: ALA, 1991). 8. George C. Grant, comp. The Directory of Ethnic Professionals in LIS (Winter Park, Fla.: Four- G Publishers, 1991). 9. ALA Black Caucus, Membership Directory of the Black Caucus of the American Librarian Asso- ciation, 7th ed. (Chicago: Black Caucus of ALA, 1991). 10. ALA Black Caucus, Membership Directory of the Black Caucus of the American Librarian Asso- ciation, 6th ed. (Chicago: Black Caucus of ALA, 1990). 11. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. "problem." 12. Jaynes and Williams, A Common Destiny, 47. 13. Ibid., 154. 14. Herbert M. Lefcourt, Locus of Control: Current Trends in Theory and Research (Hillsdale; N.J.: Erlbaum Assoc., 1982), 35. 15. Ibid., 1-18. 16. Claudia Garcia and Hanna Levenson, "Differences between Blacks' and Whites' Expecta- tions of Locus of Control," Psychology Reports 37 (1975): 563-66. 17. Richard Lippa, Introduction to Social Psychology (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1990). 18. Patricia Gurin, Gerald Gurin, Rosina C. Lao, and Muriel Beattie, "Internal-External Con- trol in the Motivated Dynamics of Negro Youth," Journal of Social Issues 25, no. 3 (1969): 29-53. 19. Lefcourt, Locus of Control, 35. 20. Jaynes and Williams, A Common Destiny, 321. 21. Lippa, Introduction, 310. 22. Doris Price, "The Academic Environment As Perceived by Professional Black Personnel in Predominantly White Institutions" (Ph.D. diss., Texas Southern University, 1988), microfiche. 23. Cliff Glaviano and Errol R. Lam, "Academic Libraries and Affirmative Action: Approach- ing Cultural Diversity in the 1990's," College & Research Libraries 51 (1990): 513-23. 24. Ibid. Recommended Titles for the Academic library THE HUMANITIES: A Selective Guide to Information Sources 4th Edition Ron Blazek and Elizabeth Aversa Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.-Reference Books Bulletin Recommended for alllibraries.-Choice Includes approximately 1,250 main entries, with many additions to all sections-general humanities, philosophy, religion, visual arts, performing arts, and language and literature. 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