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. His mother completed teacher-training school and taught for one year before marrying Josey's father, a WWI veteran who worked as a laborer at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. While at Columbia, Josey worked as a desk assistant in the Journalism Library and in several other jobs in departmental libraries, and was "encouraged to pursue librarianship as a career by his supervisor, Basil Miller".

As an ALA member, Josey partnered with Clara Stanton Jones during her ALA presidency to object vigorously to the ALA film The Speaker due to its racist subject matter, and with cataloger and activist Sanford Berman to protest negative terminology in the Library of Congress Subject Headings.

In 1981, Josey was elected vice president of the Albany, New York branch of the NAACP.

Scholarships and honors The Black Caucus of the American Library Association established its first independent scholarship fund in his honor. The E. J. Josey Scholarship Award is given annually to African-American citizen of the United States or Canada pursuing a degree in an ALA accredited Library and Information Science program in the U.S. or Canada.

Upon his retirement from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Science in 1995, he was named Professor Emeritus and a scholarship was named in his behalf: E. J. Josey Endowment Scholarship for Minorities. This scholarship is awarded annually to an enrolled African-American graduate student in the Department of Library & Information Science who demonstrates potential for academic excellence and leadership in the profession.

The Association of College and Research Libraries named the Dr. E. J. Josey Mentoring Program for Spectrum Scholars in his honor.

Publications The author of more than 400 articles in library, educational, and history journals, Josey also authored or edited thirteen books in the fields of education, history, and library science, In 1999, Josey was honored for his contribution to intellectual freedom at the ALA Midwinter Meeting on the occasion of the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the Office of Intellectual Freedom. After Josey died in 2009, the E. J. Josey Foundation for Justice and Peace was established as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in Washington, North Carolina.