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As Asian Americans are the fastest-growing U.S. immigrant group and are projected to become the largest immigrant group by 2065, more work will be needed to ensure the library field’s demographics reflect the communities we serve (Kim et al., 2021). The lack of representation of Asian Americans in all levels of library work, especially in executive roles, may make it more difficult to create culturally relevant services and programs for these communities (Le, 2021). This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to understand the lived experiences, leadership pathways, and barriers of Asian American public library leaders in California. The target populations of this study were mid- to senior-level East, Southeast, and South Asian American public library leaders who worked in California. The research method was qualitative, the design was phenomenology, and data was collected through individual interviews using purposeful sampling. I examined what these leaders experienced in their leadership pathways in the library field, guided by the following theories: Critical Race Theory, Asian American racial development theory, and the model minority myth. I analyzed and interpreted the data from interview transcripts through coding, a basic qualitative analysis technique, and a detailed explanation of the values of Asian American library leaders, their leadership pathways, and barriers in the library field. The major findings that emerged from the participants’ experiences were: (a) navigating racism within the workplace was a part of their professional experiences; (b) intersectionality of identities had an impact on some of their careers; (c) most participants believed that leaders must work hard, develop their voice, and advocate for what is right; and (d) most participants prioritized community interests. This study may benefit communities interested in diversifying their public library staff and leadership (i.e., library leaders and Asian American library staff) as well as library users, who may be looking for library staff, collections, and programs that represent the diversity of their community. From this study's findings, library leaders and library associations can glean some insight into what kinds of barriers this group faces and identify ways to help encourage more Asian Americans to obtain leadership roles in public libraries.