(PSS) — The Public School System has officially declared April as School Library Month, recognizing the enduring role of school libraries and librarians in shaping student learning, literacy, and lifelong curiosity across Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.
The proclamation, signed by Board of Education member Aschumar Kodep Ogumoro-Uludong, designates April 2026 as School Library Month under the theme, “Find Your Joy,” and calls on students, educators, school staff, parent groups, and the broader community to observe the month through programs, activities, and ceremonies that highlight the value of school libraries.
The observance was formally marked last week at the Saipan Southern High School library, where Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho joined public school librarians from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota gathered alongside representatives from the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library, and Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Camacho.
Student readers from Francisco M. Sablan Middle School and Dandan Middle School also took part in the ceremony, reading the proclamation in Chamorro, Carolinian, and English, a reflection of both the district’s cultural identity and its commitment to literacy in multiple languages.
School libraries continue to serve as some of the most dynamic and inclusive spaces on campus. These are places where students read, explore, research, collaborate, and discover the world beyond the classroom.
That broader mission is embedded in the proclamation itself, which describes school libraries as places that provide materials for growth and knowledge, support literary and cultural appreciation, encourage reading for pleasure, and help meet the diverse needs, interests, abilities, and backgrounds of students. It also affirms the librarian’s role as an instructional leader who helps students and staff become effective users of ideas and information.
In many ways, the month-long observance is also a tribute to the librarians who sustain that mission every day.
Across the district, librarians are often among the most familiar and trusted adults in a school setting: welcoming students into spaces designed not only for academic support, but for imagination, belonging, and independent learning. Their work extends beyond circulation desks and bookshelves. They guide students through research, help teachers connect instruction with resources, promote digital and information literacy, and create spaces where reading remains both accessible and joyful.
Cultivate curiosity
Commissioner of Education Dr. Camacho praised the impactful roles of public school librarians.
“Libraries as among the most recognizable and meaningful spaces in schools. They are places that open the world to children and anchor the learning experience in every grade level. At the same time librarians do far more than manage collections: they help cultivate curiosity, exploration, and the habits of lifelong learning that stay with students long after they leave the classroom,” Commissioner of Education Dr. Camacho said.
This year’s observance continues that same message, while also placing renewed attention on the evolving role of school libraries in today’s learning environment.
As classrooms increasingly integrate technology, project-based learning, and independent inquiry, school libraries remain one of the few spaces where all of those elements naturally come together, Dr. Camacho said, as he acknowledged the PSS investments through the Office of Curriculum and Instruction in supporting public school libraries across Rota, Tinian, and Saipan.
PSS, Dr. Camacho said, support both traditional reading and modern information access.
“For many of our students, they remain one of the first places where learning feels self-directed, welcoming, and personal,” Dr. Camacho said.
The district’s proclamation notes that school libraries are entrusted with helping students locate and use information through both traditional resources and new technologies, while also guiding content and recreational reading for every learner. That balance between literacy, access, and exploration continues to define the modern school library’s place in public education.
At the same time, Dr. Camacho dedicated the School Library Month by recognizing the professionals and learning spaces that quietly “hold the instructional experience together.”
Under this year’s theme, “Find Your Joy,” the message is meaningful that in every school library, there remains space for discovery, imagination, and the kind of learning that begins with curiosity and lasts a lifetime.
