Elissa Malespina writes: “Stop talking about libraries. I know that sounds strange coming from a librarian. But school boards do not make decisions about libraries in isolation. They vote on budgets, student achievement, district goals, graduation rates, staffing, transportation, and dozens of other needs. When I served on the board, I was not asking whether librarians mattered. I was asking how every dollar supported the goals the district had already established. That distinction matters because librarians sometimes begin with the wrong argument. Our facts have value, but they do not always answer the question decision makers are trying to resolve.”