In 1972 a book called Revolting Librarians appeared. It opened with a quotation by Italian anarchist Antonio Gramsci: 'To tell the truth is revolutionary.' Among the contributors was Sandy Berman, whose essay 'Libraries to the People' took public libraries to task for stocking 'safe, orthodox, Establishment-type literature.' A strong advocate of the importance of the ethnic, underground, and radical press, Berman made being a librarian seem meaningful and fun.

Ten years later, I went to work for Berman at Hennepin County Library in Minnesota, joining a crew of 'Sandynistas' who joyfully overturned arcane library catalog conventions in favor of accessibility and usefulness. I went to work at the library to escape dishwashing gigs (painful rashes on my hands) and assembly-line work (numbing boredom), but under Berman’s influence I grew from a lip-service liberal blue-collar egghead into an activist of sorts. Not to mention a librarian.

With a group of co-conspirators, I was not simply protesting injustice in the streets ('Hey, it’s the militant librarians!') but also fervidly writing, editing, organizing programs, creating bibliographies, and speaking about things that mattered to me—including the alternative press. By 'alternative press' I mean some or all of these things: not-for-profit, small-scale distribution, independent, dissenting from the status quo.

One of the passions in my life has been to encourage exploration of the new, the small, the strident, the rough, and the exciting. With partner Jan DeSirey I edited 100 issues of MSRRT Newsletter, a sort of alternative press review zine for activist librarians. The mass media often foster alienation; the alternative press offers hope and empowerment, both integral to the Utne Reader mission.

I joined the Utne staff in 1999 to manage (and read as much as I can of) a growing collection of over 1,350 magazines, journals, newsletters, tabloids, and zines, from Aboriginal Voices to Zyzzyva. In coming issues I’ll offer news and views about the magazines I’ve been reading, whether they’re new titles, just-discovered gems, or long-standing pillars of the independent media.

Sandy Berman has said, 'I cannot have information I know would be of interest to someone without sharing it.' As a kind of Johnny Appleseed of the alternative press, I intend to scatter seeds in that same spirit.