Director: Kim A. Snyder

This timely and impassioned U.S. documentary charts the experiences of a beleaguered group of librarians and their efforts to maintain independence under an increasingly authoritarian and reactionary government who are attempting to ban books that promote non-trad family values. It begins with a quote from Ray Bradbury’s book burning sci-fi novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’: ‘It was a pleasure to see things burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.’ The picture also features scenes from Francois Truffaut’s adaptation of the film, other vintage film clips, as well as some charming 50s archive footage promoting the U.S. library system. Filmed in silhouette, a Texas librarian talks about how her school district was targeted by local politician Gov. Greg Abbott who drew up a list of 850 titles that he wanted libraries to check they had in stock. Inevitably the books identified were concerned with race and LGBTQ issues. Abbot then proclaimed that the books must be removed from the shelves deeming them pornographic or likely to cause distress to children. Snyder profiles some of the librarians who fought back, including no-nonsense army veteran Suzette Baker who lost her job when she refused to have the books removed, and gutsy Louisiana librarian Amanda Jones, who wrote a book about the intimidation she received (‘That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America’). As well as her subjects’ determination, the director also conveys their sense of disbelief that they, mere librarians, are being made subject to this kind of vilification. Particularly grim are scenes of angry locals turning up at hearings and calling them abusers and paedophiles for just doing their job. In the film’s most interesting passages a New Jersey librarian talks about how she traced the supposedly homespun protest organisations to their right-wing big money backers. The picture ends on a mildly optimistic note with a minor win but this is a grim and worrying watch.

David Willoughby

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