Culture

Now Playing: ‘The Librarians’ is an informative look into the battle over book banning

By: Gordon Briggs
Posted on: Tuesday, April 7, 2026

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The subject of banned books has always interested me. I’ve always believed that if people are actively trying to prevent you from reading a certain book, it’s probably a book worth reading.

Recently, the fight over what books are available in public libraries has intensified, with some states passing laws that limit public access to certain titles. The documentary The Librarians explores this climate by tracking the rise of book bans in U.S. schools and libraries. The film focuses on librarians in states like Texas and Florida who are fighting against censorship, harassment, and threats.

Make no mistake, The Librarians is not interested in representing “both sides” equally.

The film stands with local librarians and opposes groups like Moms for Liberty. For instance, The Librarians presents Florida as a key battleground in a coordinated, systemic effort to ban books and restrict intellectual freedom. The documentary highlights Florida and Texas as primary locations for unprecedented book removals, often prompted by right-wing political pressure.

Additionally, the film provides historical context for book banning, effectively using archival footage. It opens with nostalgic, idealized images of libraries, which it then contrasts with intense, sometimes violent, modern-day attacks on librarians, such as Nazi book burnings of LGBT science books.

This visual choice draws a clear contrast between historical and contemporary book bans.

One story the documentary covers is that of Amanda Jones, a Louisiana school librarian who filed defamation lawsuits after being harassed and accused of “grooming” because she opposed book bans. The film also profiles Marie Masferrer, a Florida librarian who has fought censorship efforts despite facing numerous personal threats.

While The Librarians succeeds as political advocacy, I especially appreciated how it puts a human face on what can seem like a distant political issue, focusing on ordinary people caught in the culture war rather than just on press conferences and school board meetings.

Although I agree with The Librarians in principle, the documentary has some flaws. I would have preferred more coverage of the books’ content rather than the debate’s dynamics.

For example, what is it about these particular books that makes them targets for banning? I would have liked to see a deeper exploration of books like Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus, or a summary of Fahrenheit 451 to explain why these titles are still targeted today.

Despite these reservations, The Librarians is an engaging documentary about an important issue and is currently available to stream on your local PBS website. ★★★