Title
Racial Climate and Inclusiveness in Academic Libraries: Perceptions of Welcomeness among Black College Students
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2019
Abstract
There is currently a dearth of research on African American college students and their interactions in academic libraries. The purpose of this quantitative study is to investigate whether African American college students view academic libraries as welcoming places and to identify factors that are most influential in their perceptions of welcomeness. Adopting the theoretical lens of “library in the life of the user,” we administered a national online survey questionnaire to 160 black college students attending non-historically black colleges and universities in the United States. The survey data were analyzed by employing correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis to test our hypotheses. The analytical results showed that participants felt welcomed in academic libraries, and library as place and information needs were significant factors that affected students’ perceptions of welcomeness. Our findings suggest that library patrons are important actors in constituting the atmospheric character of the library.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
The Library Quarterly
First Page
16
Last Page
33
Recommended Citation
Stewart, B., Ju, B., & Kendrick, K. D. (2019). Racial Climate and Inclusiveness in Academic Libraries: Perceptions of Welcomeness among Black College Students. The Library Quarterly, 89(1), 16-33.