Hi! I am Dr. April M. Dawkins. I am an assistant professor in the Information, Library, & Research Sciences department at UNC-Greensboro. ILRS is part of the School of Education. Prior to joining UNCG, I was a high school librarian and high school social studies teacher in North Carolina for 21 years. 

My research focuses on intellectual freedom in school libraries and the preparation of school librarians. I am the editor of Intellectual Freedom Issues in School Libraries (2020, Libraries Unlimited) and co-author of the 7th edition of The School Library Manager: Leading Through Change (2023, Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited). A recent article published in School Library Research and co-authored by Emily Eidsen received the AASL Research Grant/Award in 2022.

I serve on the Advisory Board of the Get Ready Stay Ready Toolkit, an advocacy tool for parents and caregivers. I also currently serve on the executive board of the American Association of School Librarians as Director-at-Large. 

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in History from Meredith College in Raleigh, NC where I was a Teaching Fellow, a Masters of Library Science from NC Central University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina.