"The Librarians" Depicts Violent Intimidation as Librarians Fight Book Bans

[douglas9]

PITTSBURGH, PA. - At the Three Rivers Film Festival, I was stunned by the documentary The Librarians, directed by Kim A. Snyder and executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker.

The film presents an emotionally moving story of the intimidation, firings, and threats of physical violence faced by many librarians, particularly in the South. It’s also an inspiring portrait of how librarians are fighting back.

While groups like Moms for Liberty have faded from national headlines, their assault on educational freedom endures. During the 2024-2025 school year, PEN America recorded 6,870 book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts. The book bans tend to target books geared towards LGBT audiences. Parents claim the books are sexually explicit and push to have them removed from school libraries.

As the film depicts, reading about sexual identity in libraries is one of the few ways that LGBT youth in small conservative towns have of finding acceptance. As one librarian shares, when a book ban was announced in her school district, students were crying because it felt like an attack on their identities.

https://paydayreport.com/the-librarians-depicts-violent-intimidation-as-librarians-fight-book-bans/