Africa S. Hands

Africa S. Hands is an assistant professor in the Department of Information Science within the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo. Her research focuses on public libraries as information resources for college-bound patrons, drawing from her experience in higher education admissions, academic advising, and public libraries. She also explores the experiences of first-generation students as users of academic libraries and as professionals in the library and information science field. Hands is the principal investigator for Project CLiA, an IMLS-funded initiative examining public library support for college literacy in Central Appalachia. She authored Successfully Serving the College Bound and has published in the Journal of Education in Library and Information Science, Education for Information, Public Library Quarterly, and Information and Learning Sciences. Committed to professional service, she has held leadership roles in the American Library Association and serves as a peer reviewer for academic journals. Hands earned her PhD in information systems from Queensland University of Technology, an MLIS from San Jose State University, an MS in applied counseling psychology from Golden Gate University, and a BA in psychology from the University of California, Davis.

updated 2025