The Librarians and the fight for free speech

It isn’t often that I anticipate a film’s release as much as I’ve looked forward to the opening of The Librarians. This documentary, which made its debut at Sundance, presents the fight against censorship and book banning, as fought by librarians.

Opening at select theaters domestically, as well as in Ireland and the UK, as the American Library Association (ALA) launches its annual Banned Books week, the timing could not be better. Unfortunately, despite this film having begun screening last week, I’m going to have to wait until December to actually catch it on screen because no theaters in the Capital District are showing this timely and important film.

Until then, here’s the trailer.

While I may have to wait until later in the year to watch the movie, the issues of censorship and free speech are very much present in life in contemporary America. As the president declares Antifa a domestic terrorist organization and makes moves to crack down on protesters demonstrating against the actions of this cruel and inhumane government, the First Amendment and the rights of Americans to exercise free speech are under attack.

I know this first hand.

Recently, I was politely asked by my employer to remove my personal Facebook profile picture after a complaint had been lodged. The photo in question was a screenshot from Trump’s September visit to the UK. Here it is:

Now, I understand that the language in that image could be considered vulgar by some, but in the part of the world where my father’s family is from, the word cunt is used much more liberally than it might be in our Victorian, pearl clutching nation. Additionally, the photo was on my personal social media. Since our country allows media to be consolidated into the hands of oversized corporations, when I changed my private Facebook (a platform where no current students are “friends”) my profile picture on my public Instagram account also changed.

Oops.

The request to sanitize my account(s) is not an isolated action. A neighbor, also a librarian, was approached by her employer to remove an offensive image from her personal social media. The objectionable image? A verbatim quote of Charlie Kirk’s, noneditorialized.

I’m sorry, but presenting a direct quote from a public figure is most certainly an allowable action in a society which claims to respect and value free speech.

Speaking of the First Amendment, last Sunday, June Farms hosted a fundraiser for the ACLU and the turnout was impressive. Being at an event, surrounded by people who value free speech, was as warming to my soul (and psyche) as the late September sunshine was on my face.

Incidentally, the theme for this year’s Banned Books week is “Censorship is so 1984.* Read for your rights.” I’m looking forward to sharing the information provided by the ALA with regard to censorship, book challenges and book bans, with my students. They never fail to be outraged when they learn about the controversy surrounding picture books such as And Tango Makes Three and In the Night Kitchen.

As the dystopian nightmare that is the current regime continues, it is more important than ever that we stand up for one another and for the right to speak freely. People are losing their jobs and we must unify our voices in protest before it’s too late.

As Cindy Hohl, ALA President from 2024-2025 said –

“They targeted the wrong profession,” Hohl said. “If anyone thought that we were quiet and we were going to stand back, they didn’t know us. We will stand up for every American’s constitutional rights. We will stand up for the 1st Amendment. We will stand up to make sure that libraries are not shuttered, because the day that libraries are shuttered in America is the day that democracy dies.”

What she said.

*The year my class graduated from high school.