Hallie Rich

Parents and educators are sounding the alarm. Last year, the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health found that 83 percent of parents believe children’s mental health is declining, with social media and screen time cited as top concerns. Eighty-eight percent of educators in a 2025 survey say student attention spans are shortening—a phenomenon that one cognitive scientist says is the result of devices recalibrating children’s tolerance for effortful tasks.

Last year, a district librarian in Oregon raised $44,000 for their libraries by cobbling together grants, book fair revenue, and crowdfunded donations. They used best practice calculations to estimate that the library budget should have been around $23,000. They were allocated $2,800. So, they hustled.

April is School Library Month, a celebration of school libraries that the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) started back in 1985. Its purpose is to raise awareness about the importance of strong school library programs, highlight the work of school librarians, and advocate for adequate funding and resources for school libraries.