MOVIE OF THE WEEK October 3, 2025: THE LIBRARIANS
If news stories about fear-driven book bans leading to bare school library shelves leave you gnashing your teeth, you will love/hate watching The Librarians. Director Kim A. Snyder’s timely, important documentary follows the brave, determined folks who are on the ground fighting for kids’ right to read the types of stories that might lead to pearl clutching by some adults but ultimately offer young people powerful new ideas and the chance to feel seen and understood.
Book bans, sadly, are nothing new, but there’s been an alarming increase in crackdowns on school libraries in the United States in recent years. The Librarians traces this back to October 2021, when conservative Texas State Representative Matt Krause circulated of a list of around 850 titles for review by the state’s school districts — a list that included a disproportionate number of stories about LGBTQ+ characters and books by/featuring people of color. Krause’s list led to heated school board meetings, accusations of librarians pushing “pornography” on kids to “groom” them, and, ultimately, many districts pulling titles off of shelves. The crusade quickly spread from Texas to Florida and all over the country, rapidly gaining ground in conservative areas and eagerly fueled by well-funded pro-censorship group Moms for Liberty.
Meanwhile, school librarians who tried to reason with zealotry and fight back for the sake of the kids who desperately need access to books about people like them found themselves villainized, verbally attacked, and even physically threatened. Snyder interviews several of them for the film, from forthright military veteran Suzette Baker in Llano County, Texas, who isn’t inclined to let anyone tell her what she can and can’t do in her library, to mild-mannered minister’s wife Julie Miller in Clay County, Florida, whose decision to speak out against school book banning led to her losing her job. Every single one of the interviewees comes across as sincere, dedicated to helping kids, and passionate about the freedom to read. By contrast, those who stand against them — especially Monica Brown in Granbury, Texas — show the kind of small-minded fanaticism that’s so often linked to censorship and oppression.
While there’s no neat, feel-good resolution to the issues that Snyder raises in The Librarians, the film serves as a powerful call to action to stand strong against those who would harm kids in the name of “saving” them. It entreats viewers to cast a critical eye on groups — like Moms of Liberty — that claim to be grassroots organizations powered by the passion of their members but are really funded by deep-pocketed donors with very specific political agendas. And, above all, it reminds us of the vital importance of books — and the ideas and experiences held within their pages — to a free society. — Betsy Bozdech
Team #MOTW’s comments:
Nell Minow: Librarians, often stereotyped as cardigan-wearing “shhhhh”-ers, are in fact warriors for freedom to think, learn, and imagine. That is why they are under attack from groups that hide their funding sources and mangle the language, accusing them of being predators, groomers, and pornographers because they make available books like the one about the two male penguins who adopt an orphaned egg [based on a true story], and, for teenagers, books that have honest and frank but not graphic depictions of the realities of racial injustice and sexuality. The reason for this? As one librarian says, “If you control the library, you control the community.” As horrifying as it is to see the attacks, including threats of violence, on these people who just want children and teenagers to have a chance to see books that inform and inspire, it is immeasurably moving to see the valor and integrity of those who will not be silenced,
Loren King It’s disturbing to say the least to watch Moms for Liberty members, male and female, routinely attack librarians as “pedophiles” in public meetings or online while convicted or credibly accused sexual abusers at the highest levels of government walk free. The hypocrisy is glaring and chilling. But The Librarians isn’t just about exposing injustice; it’s also about the courage of the librarians who stand up for young people who deserve access to books and a clarion call for anyone who cares about free speech and public education. Read full review.
Leslie Combemale If you don’t know the country is on the precipice of authoritarianism, you’re not paying attention. All around us everything is in question, from free speech to the right to assemble. It’s not an exaggeration that librarians are at the forefront of these issues. They’ve always been the canaries in the coal mine of authoritarianism. Kim A Snyder’s film shows not only what they’ve been going through and why as it relates to attempts to censor and remove books from libraries all over the country, but also what the conservative organization “Moms for Liberty” are all about and what drives them. Librarians are heroes and badasses fearless in the face of intimidation, and that’s made abundantly clear in The Librarians.
Jennifer Merin Acclaimed documentrian Kim A. Snyder’s The Librarians is a revealing, indepth look at the lives and careers of the dedicated professionals who are at the vanguard of protecting our rights to freedom of speech and other forms of expression. These guardians of stories and all sorts of published studies are essential to our society’s intellectual wellbeing and effective social and cultural debate. There’s also engaging consideration of how the profession has changed over time and how it handles the constant and challenging evolution of media technology. And, of note, it is also a profession in which women have prevailed. Snyder doesn’t miss a beat in raising awareness about the importnt role librarians play in keeping us from a Fahrenheit 451 future. The profession and those who embrace it are noble, and so is the film. And, its release is particularly timely.
Sandie Angulo Chen: I first saw Kim A. Snyder’s documentary The Librarians at the 2025 American Library Association annual conference in Philadelphia, where the filmmaker and several of the featured librarians (some of whom lost their jobs for having challenged books in their school library collections) spoke candidly about their experiences. This isn’t just a documentary; it’s a call to action. At a time when the freedom to read is under unprecedented threat, Snyder reminds us that we can’t afford to be idle. Instead, we must join librarians, students, and community members in fighting the good fight to protect access to books for all.
Liz WhittemoreFilmmaker Kim A. Snyder’s The Librarians brings audiences inside the mindboggling circumstances of the unsung heroes who protect our Freedom of Speech and right to learn. If you’ve been living under a rock, you may not be aware of Moms for Liberty, a group of women driven by their vitriol for any books written by anyone other than straight, white, and “Christian” authors. They are responsible for leading the book-banning charge and disrupting the lives of not only librarians but kids across the country. Focusing on Texas and Florida politics, Snyder introduces us to the lengths individuals on both sides of the battle go. If you are a regular library patron and student of history, you recognize the severity of this gross and terrifying trend. The Librarians is truly a microcosm for the fascism we are witnessing in real-time. On a personal note, my younger sister is a youth librarian. I know she’s saving the lives of her patrons with her fearless displays, recommendations, and an empathetic ear. She is a superhero to me.
Cate Marquis Director Kim A. Snyder’s The Librarians throws a spotlight on librarians as defenders of the right to read, who are standing up to censorship. This well-made documentary focuses specifically on Texas school librarians under attack by a group called Moms For Liberty, a well-funded national political organization targeting librarians and pushing to remove books, mostly with LGBTQ or anti-discrimination themes, that it deems pornographic. Among the books targeted are a graphic novel version of the Diary of Anne Frank, and the film powerfully draws parallels with Nazi book-burning, presenting putting archival footage of Nazi book-burning side by side with contemporary clips of present-day book-burning in Texas, and with references the novel Fahrenheit 451. The resulting documentary is both chilling to watch, and inspiring for showing the bravery of the librarians.
FILM DETAILS:
Title: The Librarians
Director: Kim A. Snyder
Release Date: October 3, 2025
Running Time: 92 minutes
Language: English
Screenwriters: Leo Munoz Gonzalez, Jack Youngelson
Distribution Company: Independent Lens
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Sandie Angulo Chen, Betsy Bozdech, Leslie Combemale, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore
Other Movies Opening This Week
Edited by Jennifer Merin
