THE LIBRARIANS – Review by Lois Alter Mark

“It feels like I’m living in a dystopian novel,” says one of the courageous school librarians interviewed in The Librarians. “But defending intellectual freedom, even on the darkest days – this is still what we do.” A powerful tribute to the real heroes of our time, this must-see documentary also serves a wake-up call and an urgent warning to all Americans.

With Republicans continuing to pass laws to ban books, school librarians are the ones on the front line, leading the war against censorship and fighting to protect First Amendment rights. So, hearing directly from them is necessary, enlightening and horrifying.

“If you can control a library, you can control a community,” explains one librarian. “Control the flow of information and ideas, you’ve got everything. Of course you’re coming for the school librarians first. Of course you are.”

In this incredibly informative film, which may be the most important watch of the year, director Kim A. Snyder introduces viewers to the soldiers of the stacks: the school librarians who are going above and beyond to save democracy. There’s Amanda Jones, who was once named Librarian of the Year but now proudly wears a shirt proclaiming, “That librarian,” with a nod to the way her adversaries refer to her. There’s Suzette Baker, who lost her job for refusing to remove books like “How to Be an Antiracist” from the shelves. There’s Martha Hickson, also a past Librarian of the Year, who followed the money to discover Moms for Liberty (a group of mothers who are set on banning books like Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid Tale and who claim that they’re funded solely by the t-shirts they sell) is actually funded by rich, conservative political action committees.

“Please do your research,” begs one librarian. “Our founding fathers’ biggest fear was being a theocracy. They didn’t want to be governed by a king or a god. They wanted freedom.”

Librarians are all about the facts and they’re quick to point out that politics and religion have no place in determining what people should be allowed to read. They’re also quick to point out that kids are the ones who suffer from book bans because the books that are primarily being targeted are those that talk about race, sex and people who are LGBTQ+. In other words, the books that actually save lives by making students realize they’re not alone.

The librarians stress the need to get involved in local elections and show how, over the past few years, school boards have become more and more instrumental in setting policy and acting as a steppingstone to other government positions. It is eye-opening and scary, especially as Snyder lets the wanna-be book banners speak for themselves and it’s obvious that they are on the wrong side of history.

“This is the civil rights movement of our time,” one of the librarians emphasizes. The Librarians will infuriate you and motivate you to get involved in whatever way you can. Attend school board meetings, call your elected officials, run for local office or simply buy, read and share targeted books because, according to the librarians, “They’re banning the best books.”