ONE of the posted rules for middle schoolers using the library at Franklin Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) school in Minneapolis this year is an encouraging directive: “There is a book for you – find it.”

And the students have. More than 1,500 titles have been checked out so far this school year, representing a four-fold jump over the number of books that left the shelf by this time last school year.

“As much as I want to say I managed to shoot book checkout up 400%, it’s not because of anything incredible that I personally did,” said Ted Anderson, the school’s librarian. “It’s because I’m here and the library is actually open.”

Like a handful of other Minneapolis schools, Franklin had no library staff last year, meaning it was often closed to students.

Anderson came to the school as part of a librarian hiring wave across the district, marking a renewed investment in the positions that are often among the first to be cut when school budgets are squeezed.

Minneapolis Public Schools has doubled its number of librarians since last year and met its goal of staffing at least a half-time librarian at each of its more than 60 schools.

But most worth celebrating, staff members say, is the number of books finding their way into the hands of young readers across the city. Circulation is way up in many schools – it’s doubled since last year at Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary on the Northside and also at Transitions Plus, a programme for 18- to 21-year-old students with learning disabilities.