A graduate of the library science program at the University of Maryland and a founding member of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), James Clifton Welbourne was born in 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were James C. and Mabel Welbourne.
Welbourne served as the assistant director of the Enoch Pratt Library from 1993 to 2000, and the assistant to the Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Maryland School of Library and Information Science. Previously, he was assistant director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh from 1986 to 1993.
In July 2000, the New Haven Free Public Library hired Welbourne as its first African American director. In addition, to his work in librarians, Welbourne author several chapters on librarians and librarianship for The Black Librarian in America, What Black Librarians Are Saying, and The Black Librarian in America Revisited. He retired from the New Haven Free Public Library in 2010. Welbourne passed away on August 22, 2011. The ALA Council adopted a memorial resolution honoring Welbourne's legacy during the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California.
Sources: Welbourne, James C. "Black Recruitment: The Issue and an Approach." The Black Librarian in America, edited by E. J. Josey, Scarecrow, 1970, pp. 92-97; Welbourne, James C. "The Information Potential in the Liberation of Black People." What Black Librarians Are Saying, edited by E. J. Josey, Scarecrow, 1972, pp. 50-64; Welbourne, James C. "Achieving Economic Self-Reliance: The Urban Public Library Strengthens the Economic Base of the Community." The Black Librarian in America Revisited, edited by E. J. Josey, Scarecrow, 1994, pp. 122-32.; Smith, Abbe. "Former New Haven City Librarian Touched Many Lives." New Haven Register [Online], 26 Aug. 2011, www.nhregister.com/news/article/Former-New-Haven-city-librarian-touched-many-lives-11570568.php . Accessed 6 Apr. 2026; Berry, John N. "Leadership for Change Saves Us from the Slow Death of Entrenchment: Welbourne's Legacy." Library Journal, vol. 136, no. 16, 2011, p. 9.; RoryLitwin. "James Welbourne Has Passed On." Litwin Books, 5 Sept. 2011, litwinbooks.com/james-welbourne-has-passed-on/ . Accessed 6 Apr. 2026; Satija, Neena. "He Built Up Branches & People." New Haven Independent [Online], 3 Oct. 2011, www.newhavenindependent.org/2011/10/03/james_welbourne/ . Accessed 6 Apr. 2026; "James C. 'Jim' Welbourne, Jr. (1942-2011)." Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, 25 Sept. 2023, nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2000067 . Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.; Biddle, Stanton F. "BCALA Leadership:1970-2025 [Part 1 and 2]." Handbook of Black Librarianship, 3rd Edition, edited by Andrew P. Jackson, Marva L. DeLoach, and Michele Fenton, Rowman & Littlefield, 2024, pp. 60, 63.