A powerful symbolic image in Kim Snyder’s The Librarians documentary, which has received its premiere at Sundance this year, is a librarian who, at the start of the film, stays in the shadows of anonymity but as the stories about the alarming accelerated campaign to ban books from libraries around the country pile up, at the end of it, the librarian finally reveals herself. The visual impact puts the exclamation point on the title’s premise.
In a riveting account that packs an emotional punch without losing sight of its most critical epiphany, Snyder’s documentary lays out the battle stakes for intellectual freedom in the U.S., and is accompanied by smartly curated archival footage from newsreels along with classic television and film examples. There may have been a time when librarians did not necessarily have to be acutely conscious of the extent of power in their hands or of the enormity of the responsibility for exercising its proper and fair use. Their profession has traditionally been based in the science of classification, curation, archiving and preservation. But, as viewers observe the snowballing impacts of book banning that just a handful of years ago occurred primarily in Florida and Texas spread across the country like a prairie wildfire, the librarians who speak in the film are aware that they can ill afford to let that potential power sink into atrophy, resignation or complacency. They understand why they must gird up for the battle.
Snyder, whose 2020 documentary Us Kids chronicled the grassroots activism among young people calling for gun reform, is suited superbly to the task here. Positioning librarians as the frontline defenders of intellectual freedom against censorship and book banning, the film examines the frighteningly rapid surge in libraries across the nation, some of which has been supported by state legislation, as well as a corresponding increase in threats and harassment targeting librarians.
Yet, the film also poses the most disturbing question, which becomes apparent midway through the film. Is the orchestrated book banning campaign really about those espousing a position of Christian nationalism or something even more nefarious. That is, gin up controversies concerning gender identity, sexuality, social equality, enlightened perspectives on social welfare, environment and climate change to unrealistic proportions so as to distract from focusing on the behind-the-scenes coordinated efforts. That is, money funneled to support book banning campaigns and populate school boards with like-minded individuals is part of a broader strategy to put more power, control and wealth in the hands of tech oligarchs who envision transforming the entire knowledge and information infrastructure in the U.S. to serve their self-interests. To wit: the scenes highlighting Moms for Liberty, a far-right group that has been in the headlines for various scandals.
For this particular thematic angle, the story of Courtney Gore is illuminating. Once the co-host of a right-wing talk show, she was elected to the Granbury, Texas school board on a platform of challenging curriculum she believed purposefully indoctrinated children. After being elected, she found no evidence while reviewing the district curriculum that it was steeped in purposes of indoctrination. Believing that her colleagues on the school board, with whom she had shared political sentiments, would reconsider their critiques, they instead dismissed her revelations.
As a 2024 Texas Tribune report, published in conjunction with ProPublica, indicated, now convinced that her colleagues had no intention of public education reform because they were more interested in flooding the channels with mistrust, Gore took to social media. She wrote, “I’m over the political agenda, hypocrisy bs … I took part in it myself. I refuse to participate in it any longer. It’s not serving our party. We have to do better.” The point of her message is reiterated in the film. Are there more like Courtney Gore out there?
Snyder also shows how the battle is not just political but also emotional, for how it shows book banning has ripped apart family ties. A Louisiana librarian sees her relationship with her father, a Christian nationalist, grow distant, although her mother discreetly supports her. Likewise, judicious temperament is not a requirement in the right-wing campaign. Bruce Friedman, associated with Moms for Liberty, threatens to run over any opponent, when approached by a Florida librarian, who happens to be the daughter of a Baptist minister and seeks to talk with him about the issue.
The most striking example about how the issue has affected families comes from Texas, when a woman (Monica Brown) argues for arresting librarians and charging them with felonies suggesting they were distributing pornography to minors. In the next moment, the viewer is introduced to the woman’s son, who was cast out of the family when he announced he was gay: Weston Brown, who now lives in San Diego with his male partner. Brown traveled to his Texas hometown to speak before the board. While there is no communication between mother and son, the image of the mother recording the happenings on her phone amplifies the emotional damage. Meanwhile, in the same Texas school district, librarians are heartened by students who speak up for them, highlighting the deep impacts of discovering books that reflect who they are as well as the dreams they have in their lives.
The historical underpinnings are just as smartly chosen. Newsreel footage of book burnings during the Nazi era suddenly seems relevant again, juxtaposed against a recent scene of a similar act in Tennessee. Viewers are reminded of the Red Scare in the middle of the last century, fueled by Senator Joe McCarthy, who would eventually be publicly repudiated. Once again, a clip from a Twilight Zone episode six decades ago reminds us of the famous television series’ prescience, along with a clip of Truffaut’s acclaimed cinematic adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Equally impressive is an original score by internationally known composer Nico Muhly, quite the coup for a documentary sound track.The music is an excellent accompaniment to the narrative contours Snyder has presented.
Just as Sundance was starting last week, Subject Matter, an organization that provides funds for documentary films dealing with urgent social issues, announced a $25,000 grant for The Librarians. Subject Matter will add $100 to all audience donations to the PEN America librarian initiative made during the Sundance Film Festival, up to $5,000. PEN documents the rise of book bans and educational gag orders and the organization has documented more than 15,000 instances of book bans since 2021, a level of censorship not seen since the Red Scare period of the 1950s.
No question, the film merits as widespread visibility after Sundance ends Feb. 2. Just recently, Utah elected officials have expanded book banning efforts and now are saying it will be illegal for students to carry personal copies of such books to school. Regarding a Minnesota public school district, PEN America has asked the district not to use a website, established by a former Moms for Liberty group member, as an exclusive resource for determining whether or not a book has objectionable content. A PEN America statement indicated that “it was akin to having ‘a fox rule a chicken coop.’” Such websites ignore applying the Miller Test, the primary legal test for whether a written or spoken expression constitutes obscenity. On an encouraging front, several states are considering legislation to buffer the rise of indiscriminate book banning as a safeguard for schools and librarians. New Jersey, California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington have recently passed measures to preserve reading materials, according to one report.
The Librarians is one of several films at Sundance this year that have received a Utah Film Center fiscal sponsorship. For more festival information and tickets, see the Sundance website.