The Librarians is an effective documentary that shines a light on the dangers of book banning in the United States. For 92 minutes, audiences see the struggles of librarians across the nation as they take on the topic of censorship and much more.
Director Kim A. Snyder is a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting documentary Newtown, with a master’s degree in International Affairs. Her directorial debut was in 2000 for I Remember Me, a biographical film about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
The New Yorker’s first associate producer credit was for the short film Trevor, which won an Academy Award. This story of a suicidal teenager aired on HBO and led to the creation of the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth.
The Librarians has her focusing on the community once again after a Texas House Representative lists 850 books, many with queer subject matter, to have them removed from school libraries.
New Jersey librarian Martha Hickson is one of the people featured in the documentary and Courtney Gore becomes an ally while living in Granbury, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where some of the filming takes place.
Snyder, Hickson and Gore travelled to Illinois to answer questions after screenings and the trio sat down for a roundtable discussion at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema with Windy City Times.
Windy City Times: What inspired you to make The Librarians?
Kim A. Snyder: It was in the fall of 2021 that I heard about a group of librarians speaking out about book bans in Texas.
WCT: Did you just show up with a film crew?
KAS: With stories, you don’t really know what you are getting into and it can be a long haul. I always think it will be a short documentary, but when I start pulling the string, the story can grow longer.
It was a journey with the subjects and I went there pretty quickly. The original three, Carolyn Foote, Becky Calzada and Nancy Jo Lambert called themselves the “Freadom Fighters” in the Austin area. Over time, they trusted me and introduced me to others who are now a part of the documentary.
They were all meant to have their own story and it’s like a passing of the baton to each person, like Martha here. There’s an investigation of everything and Courtney becomes part of that in an unlikely way by changing her position on it. It all builds until there is a feeling of empowerment.
WCT: The public may have heard about book banning without knowing that the LGBTQ+ community was the main target. Do librarians choose the books in each individual library?
Martha Hickson: We do, both in school and public libraries. We have selection policies that guide us in a school and are somewhat tied to the curriculum. There are parameters and we read hundreds of book reviews every month.
We are dealing with limited shelf space every month and have a limited budget, so we are looking for the best of the best to fit the curriculum needs and student interests.
WCT: Doesn’t this make your selections feel personal?
MH: It certainly does. In every school, there’s a subset of people who like the library and librarians really get to know them well. When I was ordering books, I knew exactly who I was ordering them for. It’s like being a personal shopper.
WCT: Do you know updates on the mother of Weston, Monica Brown?
Courtney Gore: She just ran for the school board and the elections were last night. We showed the film two days ago and it sold out. None of the people from The Librarians, including Monica, were elected.
WCT: How is Weston Brown doing?
CG: He was just with us at the screening in Rome.
MH: Wonderful things have happened in his life. He is married to the guy shown in the documentary and they have bought a house together. He’s living his best life.
KAS: They split their time between Guadalajara and Southern California.
WCT: Why do they go to the extreme and call these books pornography?
KAS: It is all predicated on fear.
WCT: Do you feel things are getting better at school libraries in general?
MH: It is hard to say, but there is some progress. In the film, you see me testifying before the New Jersey General Assembly Education Committee in support of the Freedom to Read Act, which was inspired by the legislation in Illinois. That passed and became law in New Jersey last December in 2024.
That is progress, but only if people follow that law. This week, there was a situation in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where they are trying to impose rules similar to Texas and Florida on a middle school there because one parent objected to a book titled Out of Left Field by Jonah Newman.
They want every book that deals with “sensitive topics” to have a grade level on it and only those from a certain age can check it out with their parents’ permission. That flies in the face of the New Jersey Freedom to Read Act, yet this principal at the school is insisting upon it, so one step forward and 27 steps back.
WCT: What results have you observed tied to screening this film?
KAS: I have screened The Librarians overseas and abroad. I have been amazed by how it is resonating universally. It is about so much more than school libraries and books.
When I started this project, we were the canaries in the coal mines, but now there are attacks on freedom of expression in all sectors.
WCT: So you have seen big crowds at the various screenings?
KAS: Yes, and it’s been booked at over 100 theaters, usually selling out. It is planned to be on PBS’s Independent Lens on February 9.
I have played it in the UK, Italy and Switzerland. I was at the German National Library and you can imagine how poignant that was. We opened theatrically in London, Edinburgh and Dublin.
People realize this is a film about the fragility of our democracy.
MH: Kim has made these screenings into community forums. I have participated in the talkbacks after the film and audiences are staggered by what they have just seen. They are hungry for information after watching The Librarians and eager to be activated around this issue.
KAS: They want answers, and it is a call to action to become hyperlocal. That is a mantra that works across partisan lines. Republicans want things left local and in this case, I completely agree. Everyone needs to get engaged locally with their school boards and libraries. They need to see how censorship can take root by taking one little book off the shelf, such as Queerfully and Wonderfully Made or Fun Home. That one book matters.
MH: I defended Fun Home twice, but what really stuck a dagger in my heart was This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson. It was the nonfiction book that was circulated the most. I personally checked that book out to dozens of students and every time I did I was amazed. It was giant rainbow stripes in huge block letters that could be read across the room, stating This Book Is Gay. I am amazed at the courage of a 15-year-old when they check it out and reveal themselves to the people around them. When they banned that book, all I could see in my mind was the faces of all of the children who had checked it out in the past. I felt protective of them and I didn’t want their resources taken away from them.
That book gives them advice from someone who has explored their identity. The reader may not be able to ask their parents about their identity or even have the language to have that conversation. I couldn’t let that be taken away from those kids.
KAS: What struck me across the board from librarians was the integrity, dedication and commitment to protect those kids and their well-being.
Traveling internationally, I see such solidarity amongst the librarians in their tribe. They show up and have each other’s backs.
MH: We can see each other coming and at this screening, I saw it crawling with librarians. I guess it is kind of like gaydar. [all laugh]
KAS: This film has started a movement. I like to call it “librarians without borders” because they put politics aside. They may find themselves in war zones inside libraries, which have become politicized.
MH: A vivid example of that is in Canada, where things have flared up. Carolyn Foote and I have been on calls where librarians in Alberta are looking for advice on how to manage this. The border goes away when the books are on fire.
KAS: There’s a part in the movie where you say, Martha, “Fighting censorship is what I have been trained to do.” They are public servants just like a firefighter. They are on the front lines, putting out fires and trying to uphold democratic ideals.
WCT: Do you want to make a part two of The Librarians?
KAS: I had aspirations to construct this like a graphic novel and have more animation. I compare librarians to superheroes.
WCT: Martha is Wonder Woman.
MH: As long as there are no skin-tight costumes…
KAS: You have upheld truth and fought for justice, just like Wonder Woman, Martha.
WCT: We need allies and people like Martha in libraries.
KAS: Yes, unlikely heroes.
WCT: Talk about allies, Kim. You have brought attention to disparities in the LGBTQ+ community with two film projects now.
KAS: I didn’t take it on from that angle. I learned that over 60 percent of the banned books were LGBTQ+ subjects, but there is also the erasure of Black history and books with Jewish themes that were removed. It is anybody who is “other.”
It is not just marginalized voices that are being challenged, but things that make kids feel uncomfortable. I grew up on Grimm’s Fairy Tales and what is more violent than putting children in an oven? That was uncomfortable for me when I was little.
WCT: What are you working on next, Kim?
KAS: I am busy with this around the clock now. This is a particular and important moment in our history and this film is a story of resistance.
WCT: So many people feel helpless and you are able to do something.
KAS: It would be easy to hide my head under the covers. I am exhausted, but I feel privileged to have this tool. I can go out and influence people.
WCT: Thank you all for coming to Chicago.
The Librarians is screening at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Wrigleyville, 3519 N. Clark St., from now until Thursday, Nov. 20. To purchase tickets and follow the film, check out thelibrariansfilm.com.