Oscar-nominated The Librarians, directed by Kim A Snyder and executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker, is a documentary about the unlikely defenders of intellectual freedom in schools in Trump’s changing USA.
Heroines
by Alexa DalbyThe Librarians
0.0 out of 5.0 stars
CAUTION: Here be spoilers
The Librarians is a gripping, very American documentary about the sorry state of Trump’s America. It is very timely now, with the taking off-air of TV satirist Jimmy Kimmel and the increasing restrictions in many US states to women’s reproductive rights to abortion and even to contraception. In America, they do things differently, school boards have the power to send round lists of books they think should be banned from school libraries because the school board or state governor thinks that the books – apparently educational to us here – promote child sexual abuse or LGBT issues.
The librarians in question are, in the main, female school librarians, brave women who saw themselves simply as stewards of resources but unexpectedly find themselves on the front line in the fight for intellectual freedom. The Librarians is directed by a woman, Kim A Snyder, and A-lister Sarah Jessica Parker is an executive producer.The documentary premiered at Sundance and has been nominated for an Oscar. The story is told interspersed with well-chosen archive footage.
These brave women don’t give up their fight, despite being branded by their ‘Christian’ opponents as purveyors of “smut and porn” to primary schoolers and teenagers. They refuse to remove books from their libraries that they have read themselves and see as worthwhile and worthy to be on the shelves, even if that means losing their jobs.
The women in this powerful, must-see documentary are mainly middle aged, fighting alone and singly against organised, dark-funded, right-wing opposition. Passions and emotions run high on both sides. The title makes these unassuming women seem like super-heroes, which the documentary shows they are.
Book-banning for allegedly religious reasons started in rural Texas and is spreading to the rest of the country, The Librarians points out. Could it happen here?
The Librarians premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is released on 26 September 2025 in the UK.
