Immediately after graduating from library school in 1953, Josey was recruited into a position in a branch library at the
Free Library of Philadelphia by
Emerson Greenaway. With support from his minister, Reverend
Leon Sullivan, Josey successfully advocated to be transferred to a position that could make use of his master's degree in history as part of the social science section. Unfortunately, Josey experienced racism from existing staff with lesser credentials who resented his advanced degree and the ability to answer questions from patrons that his colleagues could not answer, and he was assigned clerical tasks beneath his abilities. As a result, Josey stayed just one year at the Free Library before deciding to leave the profession, accepting a position as a history instructor in social sciences at
Savannah State College in
Savannah, Georgia, where he remained for one year. Josey was recruited into the position of assistant professor and Director of the Library at
Delaware State College in
Dover, Delaware in September, 1955 as part of a re-accreditation effort, and was able to obtain certification for the library two years later. A major initiative was the "Library Culture Program" which featured authors such as
Langston Hughes,
Kay Boyle, and
Elizabeth Vroman. He remained at Delaware State until 1959. In this position Josey also began his career as an author, writing a series of articles while in the position about library management, library accreditation, and library use. He also began his first position as editor, of the
Delaware Library Association Bulletin—the first African American in the role. In recognition of Josey's many accomplishments in the state, he was appointed to a statewide school librarian certification revision committee by the Delaware State Department of Public Instruction. While at Delaware, Josey also met and married Dorothy Johnson and became a father to Elaine Jacqueline Josey, his only child. In 1959, Josey was invited to return to Savannah State College by the president to oversee the building of a new library facility, and he served as chief librarian and associate professor there until 1996. During Josey's tenure, he implemented two programs that "attracted large numbers of whites into the Savannah State College campus for the first time"; as a result, the library was recognized in 1962 and 1964 by the
American Library Association's
John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations award. Josey was also able to increase library circulation from 20 to 39 percent as the result of a multi-year summer reading program to improve incoming students' independent reading. Josey was the faculty advisor for the debate team and
Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, and supported students' founding of a local chapter of the
NAACP. In 1966, Josey joined the
New York State Education Department in its Division of Library Development as an Associate in the Bureau of Academic and Research Libraries. In this position he "developed and improved services for the 216 academic and research libraries in New York. In 1968 he was promoted to Chief of the Bureau of Academic and Research Libraries and held that position until 1976 when he was appointed Chief, Bureau of Specialist Library Services,
New York State Library. While in these roles, Josey implemented the New York State
interlibrary loan system, providing access to 72,000 libraries around the world.
Educator for Library and Information Science The next phase of Josey's career involved
education for librarianship. From 1970 until his retirement in 1995, Josey served on the
North Carolina Central University's library school advisory council, supporting student recruitment and faculty research; mentoring students; and enhancing collections. In 1986, he was recruited to the
University of Pittsburgh School of Library and Information Science as a senior professor, where he continued his civil rights activities and became even more well known for mentorship, teaching, scholarship, and recruitment. During Josey's first five years, the number of minority students increased from three to twenty-seven. He went on to receive emeritus status at the University of Pittsburgh.
Research and scholarship Josey authored more than 400 articles in library, educational, and history journals, and authored or edited thirteen books in the fields of education, history, and library science. Several works collected together and amplified the experiences of African American Librarians.
The Black Librarian in America, published in 1970, is often noted as his seminal work. The book collects twenty-five autobiographical essays, including pioneers such as
Virginia Lacy Jones,
Augusta Baker, Binnie Tate Wilkin,
A. P. Marshall, Miles Jackson, and
Robert Wedgeworth. The book addressed "the widespread existence of racism in the profession and incorporated stories of segregation, bias, discrimination, and ignorance about Black librarianship." In
The Black Librarian in America Revisited, published almost 25 years later, Josey collected thirty biographical and topical essays, including some authors from the original collection. The
Handbook of Black Librarianship, co-edited with
Ann Allen Shockley, was said by Josey to be his most prized work. The second edition, published in 2000, was co-edited with Marva DeLoach. Both editions provide insight into the critical issues confronted by African American Librarians. The chapter "Discrimination and Affirmative Action: Concerns for Black Librarians and Library Workers," included commentaries from twenty-three prominent librarians who "described frustration with being overlooked for promotions and director positions". Josey served as editor of
The Bookmark from 1976 to 1986, and as contributing editor to "Afro-Americans in New York Life and History." He also served on
Multicultural Review educational advisory committee. ==Activities in professional associations==