There is an impending leadership crisis in libraries serving historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), as deans and directors of these libraries report plants to retire, yet few have succession plans in place (Youmans, 2009). Should the leadership crisis persist, HBCUs and their libraries would become vulnerable in areas ranging from accreditation to managing the academic library’s shift from print to digital information.

The role of library leadership programs, such as the HBCU Library Alliance Leadership Program, must be determined. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of the leadership program in developing leadership skills among participants and to explore how participants applied what they learned within their libraries and their institutions.

A sequential explanatory mixed-method design was used to explore the research questions. Participants were recruited from the first three cohorts of the program. Data were collected via an online survey, interviews and reviews of participants’ required projects and key historical documents related to the program. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential analyses and the qualitative data were coded and analyzed to identify themes and patterns.

The results indicated that more participants were promoted internally than those who remained in the same position or those to whom some other career change status applied. The program helped to create a network of peers and mentors, who served as resources and sources of inspiration for participants following the program. Through the program, participants developed and refined career plans, and gained confidence. The

program also played a role in empowering participants with skills that could be applied within their libraries. Through the required projects, participants addressed many of the historical challenges faced by HBCU libraries. At the institutional level, the program provided an opportunity for participants to work on system-level collaborations with other institutional units, motivated them to align their visions with institutional visions

and highlighted new roles for library.

Future research on this topic would benefit from a larger sample and the use of control/treatment groups. Updated demographic on HBCU library employees are recommended, along with a study of HBCU librarians’ participation in shared governance.