I had a really thoughtful, honest post written up about what I've figured out so far on this trip, but as I went to post it, it somehow got deleted. Instead, here's the amazing Rie Selavy and her friend Kate's librarian manifesto, because those words and that image above were both part of the post. Hopefully I'll re-create it before work tomorrow.

• Because we not only shush, but shut up and listen
• Because Hypatia of Alexandria died for her brilliance, Jeannette Howard Foster midwifed queer studies, and Audre Lorde shaped our feminist consciousness
• Because we still hate capitalism and want to connect people seeking to dismantle it with the information they need to achieve this goal
• Because you bet yr sweet ass we were the first against the wall when the government came looking for yr information, and we’d put our jobs on the line again for yr privacy and freedom
• Because librarians love authors, artists, musicians, and performers and want their artistic legacy to grow, spread, and inspire the masses
• Because this profession is still dominated by straight, middle/upper class white women & we need library staff to better reflect the demographics of the people they serve
• Because we remember the lonely, scared, anxious, passionate, angry, loving children and teens we once were, and we know the books that inspired us to keep on, keep on living and want to share them with a new generation
• Because as long as there are people out there who try to ban books we are needed to defend yr intellectual freedom
• Because when libraries team up with nonprofit support systems and social services to serve our communities, we are even stronger
• Because populations like homeless people and prisoners are often ignored (even though they are as entitled to library services as anybody else)
• Because we support open information access & want our papers & zines & art etc in open archives where anyone can access them
• Because we want to harness the incredible potential of the internet while maintaining a safe community and spirit of integrity
• Because we forgive but won’t forget the sins and omissions of feminist movements before us, and strive to be inclusive, democratic, giving, and receptive as we move forward with a class-conscious, transnational feminist agenda
• Because we discovered Riot Grrrl, anarchy, Operation Beautiful, culture jamming, class wars, peaceful protests, political art, herbal medicine, alternative education and subversive literature in the stacks
• Because we are storytellers with a wreath of children at our feet, taking the old kyriarchal narratives and turning them on their heads with lush, new inspiring tales
• Because we are the human face in an increasingly corporate higher education system, with a hand and a heart and database access for struggling students and exhausted professors
• Because we believe that librarians can play a vital role in changing the world for real