“It’s Hard to Know What People Are Gonna Need If You Don’t Try”: A Mixed-Methods Study of North Carolina Librarians Providing Outreach Services to Agricultural Communities

This mixed-methods study examined how public and academic librarians across North Carolina conduct outreach to agricultural communities, particularly migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Survey and interview findings revealed that while nearly half of responding libraries conduct outreach to rural communities, direct engagement with farmworkers remains limited. Successful outreach strategies include forming community partnerships, offering mobile and targeted programming, and leveraging grants. However, barriers such as staffing shortages, lack of funding, and limited familiarity with farmworker needs persist. Findings highlight libraries’ unique capacity to bridge digital and health equity gaps and suggest targeted investment is needed to sustain and expand these efforts.