One of the posted rules for middle schoolers using the library at Franklin 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.