Please join PEN America and the Friends of the Norfolk Public Library for a special screening of Kim A. Snyder’s documentary film The Librarians, which highlights librarians fighting book bans and protecting intellectual freedom during a time of unprecedented censorship.
Librarians emerge as first responders in defending democracy and First Amendment rights. As they know, controlling the flow of ideas means controlling communities. In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books about race and LGBTQ stories, leading to widespread book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented speed. The documentary follows librarians, including Carolyn Foote and Suzette Baker, in Texas, Florida, and other states, as they unite to fight book banning in the U.S. As tensions rise, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to reveal the roots of White Christian Nationalism fueling censorship. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work, the librarians’ rallying cry for the freedom to read is a chilling warning.