diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index fc0ece5..09b56ae 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 0.5.5
 -----
 
+- use Python logging for output, can be shut down by passing ``logging=False`` to :func:`migrate.versioning.shell.main`
 - `url` parameter can also be an :class:`Engine` instance (this usage is discouraged though sometimes necessary)
 - added support for SQLAlchemy 0.6 (missing oracle and firebird) by Michael Bayer
 - alter, create, drop column / rename table / rename index constructs now accept `alter_metadata` parameter. If True, it will modify Column/Table objects according to changes. Otherwise, everything will be untouched.
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/api.py b/migrate/versioning/api.py
index 65a1ddc..5964d18 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/api.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/api.py
@@ -28,12 +28,14 @@
 import sys
 import inspect
 import warnings
+import logging
 
 from migrate.versioning import (exceptions, repository, schema, version,
     script as script_) # command name conflict
 from migrate.versioning.util import catch_known_errors, construct_engine
 
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 __all__ = [
     'help',
     'create',
@@ -211,14 +213,14 @@ def test(url, repository, **opts):
     script = repos.version(None).script()
 
     # Upgrade
-    print "Upgrading...",
+    log.info("Upgrading...")
     script.run(engine, 1)
-    print "done"
+    log.info("done")
 
-    print "Downgrading...",
+    log.info("Downgrading...")
     script.run(engine, -1)
-    print "done"
-    print "Success"
+    log.info("done")
+    log.info("Success")
 
 
 def version_control(url, repository, version=None, **opts):
@@ -333,13 +335,13 @@ def _migrate(url, repository, version, upgrade, err, **opts):
     changeset = schema.changeset(version)
     for ver, change in changeset:
         nextver = ver + changeset.step
-        print '%s -> %s... ' % (ver, nextver)
+        log.info('%s -> %s... ', ver, nextver)
 
         if opts.get('preview_sql'):
             if isinstance(change, PythonScript):
-                print change.preview_sql(url, changeset.step, **opts)
+                log.info(change.preview_sql(url, changeset.step, **opts))
             elif isinstance(change, SqlScript):
-                print change.source()
+                log.info(change.source())
 
         elif opts.get('preview_py'):
             if not isinstance(change, PythonScript):
@@ -349,10 +351,10 @@ def _migrate(url, repository, version, upgrade, err, **opts):
             module = schema.repository.version(source_ver).script().module
             funcname = upgrade and "upgrade" or "downgrade"
             func = getattr(module, funcname)
-            print inspect.getsource(func)
+            log.info(inspect.getsource(func))
         else:
             schema.runchange(ver, change, changeset.step)
-            print 'done'
+            log.info('done')
 
 
 def _migrate_version(schema, version, upgrade, err):
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/base/__init__.py b/migrate/versioning/base/__init__.py
index 4c3842a..54a9e0c 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/base/__init__.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/base/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 """Things that should be imported by all migrate packages"""
 
-#__all__ = ['logging','log','databases','operations']
-from logger import logging, log
-from const import databases, operations
+from sqlalchemy.util import OrderedDict
+
+
+__all__ = ['databases', 'operations']
+
+databases = ('sqlite', 'postgres', 'mysql', 'oracle', 'mssql', 'firebird')
+
+# Map operation names to function names
+operations = OrderedDict()
+operations['upgrade'] = 'upgrade'
+operations['downgrade'] = 'downgrade'
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/base/const.py b/migrate/versioning/base/const.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 7c24245..0000000
--- a/migrate/versioning/base/const.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-from sqlalchemy.util import OrderedDict
-
-
-__all__ = ['databases', 'operations']
-
-databases = ('sqlite', 'postgres', 'mysql', 'oracle', 'mssql', 'firebird')
-
-# Map operation names to function names
-operations = OrderedDict()
-operations['upgrade'] = 'upgrade'
-operations['downgrade'] = 'downgrade'
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/base/logger.py b/migrate/versioning/base/logger.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 0f97d40..0000000
--- a/migrate/versioning/base/logger.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-"""Manages logging (to stdout) for our versioning system.
-"""
-import logging
-
-log=logging.getLogger('migrate.versioning')
-log.setLevel(logging.WARNING)
-log.addHandler(logging.StreamHandler())
-
-__all__ = ['log','logging']
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/genmodel.py b/migrate/versioning/genmodel.py
index 114d985..9b8e0bd 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/genmodel.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/genmodel.py
@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@
 """
 
 import sys
+import logging
 
 import migrate
 import sqlalchemy
 
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 HEADER = """
 ## File autogenerated by genmodel.py
 
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/pathed.py b/migrate/versioning/pathed.py
index 6174737..5a6fc41 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/pathed.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/pathed.py
@@ -4,12 +4,15 @@
 
 import os
 import shutil
+import logging
 
 from migrate.versioning import exceptions
 from migrate.versioning.base import *
 from migrate.versioning.util import KeyedInstance
 
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 class Pathed(KeyedInstance):
     """
     A class associated with a path/directory tree.
@@ -32,7 +35,7 @@ class Pathed(KeyedInstance):
         """Try to initialize this object's parent, if it has one"""
         parent_path = self.__class__._parent_path(path)
         self.parent = self.__class__.parent(parent_path)
-        log.info("Getting parent %r:%r" % (self.__class__.parent, parent_path))
+        log.debug("Getting parent %r:%r" % (self.__class__.parent, parent_path))
         self.parent._init_child(path, self)
 
     def _init_child(self, child, path):
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/repository.py b/migrate/versioning/repository.py
index 3eb2f74..a79aa25 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/repository.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/repository.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import os
 import shutil
 import string
+import logging
 from pkg_resources import resource_string, resource_filename
 
 from migrate.versioning import exceptions, script, version, pathed, cfgparse
@@ -11,6 +12,8 @@ from migrate.versioning.template import template
 from migrate.versioning.base import *
 
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 class Changeset(dict):
     """A collection of changes to be applied to a database.
 
@@ -67,13 +70,13 @@ class Repository(pathed.Pathed):
     _versions = 'versions'
 
     def __init__(self, path):
-        log.info('Loading repository %s...' % path)
+        log.debug('Loading repository %s...' % path)
         self.verify(path)
         super(Repository, self).__init__(path)
         self.config = cfgparse.Config(os.path.join(self.path, self._config))
         self.versions = version.Collection(os.path.join(self.path,
                                                       self._versions))
-        log.info('Repository %s loaded successfully' % path)
+        log.debug('Repository %s loaded successfully' % path)
         log.debug('Config: %r' % self.config.to_dict())
 
     @classmethod
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/schema.py b/migrate/versioning/schema.py
index e98779a..8014bcb 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/schema.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/schema.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
    Database schema version management.
 """
 import sys
+import logging
 
 from sqlalchemy import (Table, Column, MetaData, String, Text, Integer,
     create_engine)
@@ -15,6 +16,8 @@ from migrate.versioning.util import load_model
 from migrate.versioning.version import VerNum
 
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 class ControlledSchema(object):
     """A database under version control"""
 
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/schemadiff.py b/migrate/versioning/schemadiff.py
index 8a06643..80a6085 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/schemadiff.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/schemadiff.py
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 """
    Schema differencing support.
 """
+import logging
+
 import sqlalchemy
 from migrate.changeset import SQLA_06
 
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 def getDiffOfModelAgainstDatabase(model, conn, excludeTables=None):
     """
     Return differences of model against database.
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/script/base.py b/migrate/versioning/script/base.py
index 2fdc5df..e88e59c 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/script/base.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/script/base.py
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+import logging
 
-from migrate.versioning.base import log, operations
+from migrate.versioning.base import operations
 from migrate.versioning import pathed, exceptions
 
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 class BaseScript(pathed.Pathed):
     """Base class for other types of scripts.
     All scripts have the following properties:
@@ -20,10 +23,10 @@ class BaseScript(pathed.Pathed):
     """ # TODO: sphinxfy this and implement it correctly
 
     def __init__(self, path):
-        log.info('Loading script %s...' % path)
+        log.debug('Loading script %s...' % path)
         self.verify(path)
         super(BaseScript, self).__init__(path)
-        log.info('Script %s loaded successfully' % path)
+        log.debug('Script %s loaded successfully' % path)
     
     @classmethod
     def verify(cls, path):
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/script/py.py b/migrate/versioning/script/py.py
index 3eaec29..0158779 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/script/py.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/script/py.py
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 
-import warnings
 import shutil
+import warnings
+import logging
 from StringIO import StringIO
 
 import migrate
@@ -12,6 +13,8 @@ from migrate.versioning.template import template
 from migrate.versioning.script import base
 from migrate.versioning.util import import_path, load_model, construct_engine
 
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 __all__ = ['PythonScript']
 
 class PythonScript(base.BaseScript):
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/script/sql.py b/migrate/versioning/script/sql.py
index 97dc505..45e7456 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/script/sql.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/script/sql.py
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+import logging
 
 from migrate.versioning.script import base
 
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 class SqlScript(base.BaseScript):
     """A file containing plain SQL statements."""
 
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/shell.py b/migrate/versioning/shell.py
index 82a1627..b99cc49 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/shell.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/shell.py
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
 
 import sys
 import inspect
+import logging
 from optparse import OptionParser, BadOptionError
 
-from migrate.versioning.base import *
 from migrate.versioning import api, exceptions
+from migrate.versioning.base import *
+from migrate.versioning.util import asbool
 
 
 alias = dict(
@@ -50,10 +52,14 @@ class PassiveOptionParser(OptionParser):
                 del rargs[0]
 
 def main(argv=None, **kwargs):
-    """kwargs are default options that can be overriden with passing
-    --some_option to cmdline
-    """
+    """Shell interface to :mod:`migrate.versioning.api`.
 
+    kwargs are default options that can be overriden with passing
+    --some_option as command line option
+
+    :param logging: Let migrate configure logging
+    :type logging: bool
+    """
     argv = argv or list(sys.argv[1:])
     commands = list(api.__all__)
     commands.sort()
@@ -138,6 +144,17 @@ def main(argv=None, **kwargs):
     # apply overrides
     kwargs.update(override_kwargs)
 
+    # configure logging
+    if asbool(kwargs.pop('logging', True)):
+        logger = logging.getLogger()
+        logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)
+        formatter = logging.Formatter("%(message)s")
+        ch = logging.StreamHandler(sys.stdout)
+        ch.setFormatter(formatter)
+        logger.addHandler(ch)
+
+    log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
     # check if all args are given
     try:
         num_defaults = len(f_defaults)
@@ -153,7 +170,7 @@ def main(argv=None, **kwargs):
     try:
         ret = command_func(**kwargs)
         if ret is not None:
-            print ret
+            log.info(ret)
     except (exceptions.UsageError, exceptions.KnownError), e:
         parser.error(e.args[0])
 
diff --git a/migrate/versioning/version.py b/migrate/versioning/version.py
index 92e9f19..eb7ab64 100644
--- a/migrate/versioning/version.py
+++ b/migrate/versioning/version.py
@@ -4,10 +4,13 @@
 import os
 import re
 import shutil
+import logging
 
 from migrate.versioning import exceptions, pathed, script
 
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 class VerNum(object):
     """A version number that behaves like a string and int at the same time"""
 
diff --git a/test/versioning/test_shell.py b/test/versioning/test_shell.py
index d9e3364..0cb0b1a 100644
--- a/test/versioning/test_shell.py
+++ b/test/versioning/test_shell.py
@@ -31,6 +31,16 @@ class TestShellCommands(Shell):
             self.assertTrue(result.stdout)
             self.assertFalse(result.stderr)
 
+    def test_shutdown_logging(self):
+        """Try to shutdown logging output"""
+        repos = self.tmp_repos()
+        result = self.env.run('migrate create %s repository_name' % repos)
+        result = self.env.run('migrate version %s --logging=False' % repos)
+        self.assertEqual(result.stdout, '')
+
+        # TODO: assert logging messages to 0
+        shell.main(['version', repos], logging=False)
+
     def test_main(self):
         """Test main() function"""
         # TODO: test output?