Public school libraries across America have become battlegrounds in the culture wars.

In a coordinated nationwide effort, groups are pushing bans on books they consider to be inappropriate for school-aged children.

A new report from Penn America, the Literature and Human Rights Group, says that in the 2024-25 school year, there were more than 6,800 book

bans in U.S. public schools.

Eighty percent of them were in just three states, Florida, Texas, and Tennessee.

A new documentary called The Librarians, examines the experiences of school librarians who

found themselves on the front lines in this battle against censorship,

often at the cost of their well-being and their jobs.

Part of the ethics of our profession to support the First Amendment and fight censorship.

I've had former students reach out to me that have told me books that saved them.

I'm going to speak out about it.

This is not a communist nation. You do not get to pick our reading material.

The film will be shown in more than 50 cities across the country beginning today, which is the start of Band Books Week,

sponsored by the American Library Association and the Band Books Week Coalition.

Kim Snyder is the director of the librarians, and Audrey Wilson Youngblood is one of the librarians

featured in the film. Kim, what drew you to tell this story and also tell it through librarians?

Well, back in the fall of 21, I had seen news about something that was called

the Kraus List when a state senator in Texas issued a list of 850 books to be removed from

school shelves. And they were mainly targeting books that had LGBTQ characters, race, and sexuality.

And I then learned about a small group of librarians in Texas calling themselves the freedom fighters

who were speaking out and connecting with librarians, including Audrey, who I soon after became connected to,

and really hearing from librarians all across the country that were facing attacks.

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