It’s been a busy year, between graduating, job hunting (successfully!), and moving cross country. Each of those deserves many pages devoted to it, which would probably all be less interesting than what my talented colleague, cohort member, and collaborator Audrey Barbakoff has to say about the political situation in Wisconsin.

I won’t apologize for making a living wage, for being able to visit a doctor when I need one, or for choosing a job that will help me build adequate retirement savings. I deserve and expect those things, as educated, passionate workers in any field should. But that’s not why I became a librarian, and I bet it’s not why you did. If we were just after a cushy lifestyle, there are easier (and let’s face it, more surefire) ways of securing one. I didn’t become a librarian to take; I became one because I wanted to give.

Librarians add incredible value to society. We help children develop the early literacy skills that will allow them to excel in school, reduce their dropout rate in high school, and continue on to higher education (and incomes). We help unemployed patrons learn the tech skills they need to find work. We provide enriching books and company to isolated seniors. We are defenders of intellectual freedom—safeguarding free, nonjudgmental access for everybody.

Sing it, sister.