Historically, African American librarians have faced the same problems of discrimination as other African American professionals: a lack of respect for professionalism; placement of African Americans in only African American communities; failure to receive promotions to administrative positions, especially those requiring supervision of white counterparts; and failure to recognize contributions to the work organization and to the profession. This volume includes biographies of twenty-two librarians who practiced their profession in the western United States and Hawaii and have made contributions to the advancement of African Americans in the profession, to the library, to the general community, and to the profession of Library and Information Science.

Those included are considered to be "pioneers" and "trailblazers" because they were the "firsts," forging the way and eliminating barriers for African American librarians to follow. Each participant submitted his or her personal biography in addition to various personal narratives and instructive information. This volume is a first step, which, with past and future records, can offer encouragement to those entering the complex arena of information purveying.