Appalachian Research and Value for the Greater Good

The University of Virginia at Wise (UVA Wise) is located on 396 acres in central Appalachia, rich in mixed land use, and biodiversity. The Appalachian economy continues to struggle due to the environmental impact of coal mining, the decline of the coal industry, the opioid crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, and now climate change. UVA Wise conducts valuable research pertinent to the problems facing the region and underrepresented communities but has no repository infrastructure or scholarly communication services. In the fall of 2023, librarians, and researchers of the University of Virginia (UVA) and UVA Wise began collaborating to preserve and provide public access to UVA Wise's federally funded research by leveraging UVA's repository infrastructure. A second phase involves building a UVA Wise research portal to showcase the research, its value, and scholarly communication services, providing library resources (employing students, funding digitization equipment), hosting a research showcase event, conducting student research advocacy, and assessing data to measure impact. The presentation will focus on the problems facing the region, specific UVA Wise research relating to those problems, explore the value of this research to disproportionately impacted communities, and explore the value of elevating the visibility of research at the smaller institution.