"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….But that isn’t why I became a librarian….I became one because I wanted to give.

We need to speak up about the value we bring to our communities. We need to have a presence at community meetings, in the newspapers and—should it come to that—at protests.

Bad budgets and bad legislation will hurt us for a time. Silent acquiescence to the idea we are valueless to our communities will hurt us forever."

--Audrey Barbakoff, a librarian at the Milwaukee Public Library. Her response to Wisconsin's labour strife.