Marshall University Research Corporation

Marshall University will examine how school administrators understand and evaluate school library programs in rural Appalachian districts. School libraries remain a critical component of literacy development, information access, and instructional collaboration, yet in many rural regions, including Appalachia, the number of schools staffed by certified school librarians continues to decline. National workforce analyses indicate that nearly one-third of U.S. schools lack librarian staffing, with West Virginia among the states with the highest rates. This planning project will investigate how current evaluation practices influence institutional decision making related to program sustainability and workforce stability. The project will convene a regional advisory board and design structured interview protocols and survey instruments to examine how school library programs are currently defined, evaluated, and understood within district leadership systems.