R. David Lankes

Every day, librarians enforce copyright policies that we may disagree with and that, in some ways, run contrary to the values of our profession. Every day, librarians must decide between a desire to preserve the privacy of our community members and offering services our communities demand. Every day, librarians must make a choice between doing what__ easy, doing what__ right, and determining what__ right in the first place. No textbook or mission statement or policy document can relieve us of the necessity to make those decisions, nor remove the complexity of those decisions. That__ why we are librarians and why librarians are professionals, not clerks. That__ why we are stewards within the communities we serve, not servants to them. That__ why we must shape the missions and the work of our organizations and communities, and not simply accept them.

To be a librarian is not to be neutral, or passive, or waiting for a question. It is to be a radical positive change agent within your community.