Identifying Opportunities for Retention of BIPOC Librarians Using Survival Analysis is a joint research project between the University at Buffalo, East Carolina University, and the University of South Carolina, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Knowing when and why BIPOC librarians leave the profession will allow libraries, professional associations, and mentors to provide effective, targeted retention strategies to prevent the loss of BIPOC librarians from the profession. This research will allow for the creation of programs that can bring support to BIPOC librarians when it is needed, instead of putting the onus of requesting help on this group of professionals. There search team will use a statistical technique called survival analysis to determine when and why BIPOC librarians are likely to leave the profession.
The analysis will be followed by interviews to contextualize the results and discussions with key stakeholders to identify potential directions for improving retention of BIPOC librarians in the profession. This research will allow for the creation of programs that can bring support to BIPOC librarians when it is needed, instead of putting the onus of requesting help on this group of professionals.