N October 6, 2011 activists set up their
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tents and began building Occupy Portland, starting
with a handful of books and zines on a cardboard
desk in Chapman Square. By the night of the 7th,
the library had a tent- books made their way onto
shelves, workshopswere held on the ground, and
art supplies abounded. The library was a stone
soup experiment sustained by volunteers and
donated materials.
Donations surged in, volunteers catalogued
books with the Dewey Decimal System, and they
were lent outon an honor system. Local librarians
offered their time and skills, even making us a
library stamp to prevent our books from being
resold. As camp expanded, so did the library,
claiming prime real estate on Lownsdale Square for
a robust library tent with two workshop tents and
art across the way. Requests were made for books
on law, politics, economics, the environment,
homesteading; science fiction overflow stabilized
shelves. Zines and fliers found homes in the
pockets of a door-sized shoe rack, and supplies
were stored in a donated dresser.
As the Occupation progressed, the meaning of
the library expanded beyond a place to access
information to an organization that facilitates
learning. Braintrust meetings developed, calling
attention to the educational needs of the movement
and how to foster an environment that respects a
diversity of learning needs. Workshops took a
central role, and more than seventy presenters
shared their knowledge about topics ranging from
tax reform to pottery making to GMO's. We
renamed the library repeatedly, finally settling on
Our School.
During the last weeks of camp, we began
preparing to bring workshops out into the
community, assembling panel speakers, and thinking
beyond the physical Occupation. At eviction time,
volunteers moved our 1,500 books to storage,
which are available again to the community at the
Che Room at St. Francis. Our School has focused
primarily on providing education panels to schools
and groups curious about Occupy since the
eviction. We are excited to begin offering
workshops again, facilitating the flow of
information and ideas, cultivating learning and
teaching opportunities for all. |
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