The Librarians

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The Librarians

2025

1h 34m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

95%

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37 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and our First Amendment Rights. As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities. In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQia+ stories -- triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of White Christian Nationalism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work -- the librarians' rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.

Critics Consensus

The Librarians delivers an illuminating and alarming look at coordinated book bans in America, transforming a hard but necessary watch into a cautionary tale and a stirring call to action.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Oct 7

Depressing and alarming stuff.

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Nell Minow

RogerEbert.com

Oct 3

3.5/4

This movie reminds us there is just one way to separate truth from propaganda: learning.

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Sheri Linden

New York Times

Oct 2

From its superb opening-credits sequence paying tribute to card catalogs of yore to its sharp selection of vintage clips and intimate reportage, “The Librarians” is as well-crafted as it is profoundly alarming.

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Kathy Fennessy

Video Librarian Magazine

May 8

4/5

[Kim] Snyder makes a strong case that book bans benefit no one, especially the vulnerable, and that if allowed to proliferate, they can lead to other forms of censorship that make communities less safe.

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Lee Zumpe

Tampa Bay Newspapers

Mar 22

The Librarians is unpleasant, but necessary viewing for anyone who doesn’t recognize that we’re standing on a very dangerous precipice.

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Glenn Dunks

reDocumented

Mar 8

In a way, it’s like arguing with a baby. Sure, your points might be totally accurate and compelling and maybe you made those points with veracious integrity. But ultimately, you’re still arguing with a baby.

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CL C

@CampFire1968 May 27

This documentary about librarians in Texas and elsewhere trying to just do their job (fighting book banning) and getting fired and threatened had me yelling at the TV. Highlights heroes who never thought they would have to be heroes.

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Malgorzata L

@RT81566868 May 13

Saw it at MDAGF in Gdynia, and I can't stop thinking about it. Shocking and thought-provoking. It made me angry and sad at the same time, as this is not what I've imagined librarian's work to look like in the XXI century.

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Tammy K

@RT30208608 Mar 19

As a high school Social Studies teacher, I empathize with the people in this movie. We must protect the right to read and learn about ideas, topics, events, and people of all kinds. Perhaps the ones we most need to protect are the ones that make us uncomfortable. We have the right to limit what our own children are exposed to, but we absolutely do not have the right to put those same restrictions on other people's children. I thank God my parents allowed me the freedom to read a wide range of books growing up. I thank God for the libraries and the librarians who opened my world and provided those books.

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Agnes R

@TheHikingBookworms Feb 10

An incredibly important documentary. It is incredibly sad. Mind blowing. Emotional. Scary. Moving. Motivating. Hopeful. I streamed it FREE on YouTube via PBS. Please watch it. It's relevant even if you dislike reading and/or books. You think you know, but you probably seriously don't know what's been going on. I'm close to my libraries. I know they've been under scrutiny and fire. But I did not know the extremes certain political groups and individuals have gone to. This isn't recent. It's been building. And it is ongoing.

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William K.

@Koolbill Feb 5

Fabulous with a scary and timely message.

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lizzy

Jan 20

This film highlights the clear and present danger we face in the USA right now. "That Librarian" and all the librarians that hold books as a guiding light for the rest of the world are my heroes. The vitriol that has been directed toward these courageous folks is reprehensible and needs more daylight to shine on it. We must learn from history in order NOT to repeat it.

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Kim A. Snyder

Director

Carolyn Foote

Self

Laney Hawes

Actor

Jeffrey Dove

Actor

Courtney Gore

Actor

Nancy Jo Lambert

Actor

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Synopsis

Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and our First Amendment Rights. As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities. In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQia+ stories -- triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of White Christian Nationalism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work -- the librarians' rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.

Director: Kim A. Snyder
Producer: Kim A. Snyder, Janique L. Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, Jana Edelbaum
Screenwriter: Leo Muñoz, Claudio X. González, Jack Youngelson
Distributor: Independent Lens
Production Co: Good Gravy Films, Two Chairs Productions, Artemis Rising Productions, Pretty Matches Productions, World of HA Productions, The Brandt Jackson Foundation, iDeal Partners Film Fund, ITVS International, Independent Television Service, Cuomo Cole Productions, KA Snyder Productions, The Harnisch Foundation, Independent Lens
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 34m