While right-wing populism and ideological censorship sweep across the globe, Kim A. Snyder’s gripping new documentary The Librarians lands in Sheffield like a lightning bolt. As the city plays host to the film’s international premiere, part of the hugely influential Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival, the film is not just a portrait of resisting librarians in the U.S. it’s a chilling warning for the UK, Europe, and the world.
As one young reader affected by the book bans in the film points out, “Every fascist movement begins the same way.”
In the age of democratic backsliding, this film is not a distant story from across the Atlantic. It’s a mirror, held up to all of us.
A Story about Books that is really about Power
Set in public school libraries across the U.S., The Librarians follows the lives of several librarians – dedicated, conscientious public servants, whose lives become upturned under a wave of book bans, harassment, and political pressure, started and spurred on by right-wing activists under the guise of ‘protecting children’.
With courageous testimony, frontline footage, and quiet scenes of resistance, Snyder’s film peels back the real objectives behind censorship: controlling public space, knowledge, and ultimately, democracy itself.
As another librarian in the film points out, “If you control the library, you control the community.” What begins as a fight over books quickly becomes a story about who gets to speak, who is silenced, and how public institutions once seen as neutral, libraries, schools, local councils, have become battlegrounds for far-right ideologies.
A warning that Europe cannot afford to ignore
While Europe has not yet experienced bans of this magnitude, the signs, hiding in the dark corners, are all there. This film arrives for its international premiere in the UK at a critical time. Far-right rhetoric has gained traction, and new waves of cultural censorship are being pushed into policy under nefarious guises. The film’s themes resonate particularly deeply in a continent whose history already shows where this leads.
As reports from European think tanks on censorship and media pluralism have pointed out, coordinated disinformation and ideological censorship are no longer distant concerns. They are shaping laws, elections, and education systems across the world.
And yet, we can all so easily feel as one librarian in the film did, saying; “It felt like it wouldn’t happen to us, it wouldn’t happen now.”
“Libraries are more than buildings, they’re sanctuaries for truth, literacy, and community,” says director Kim A. Snyder. “What began with a few books quietly disappearing has rapidly escalated into threats, lawsuits, and attacks against librarians standing up for core values of freedom and democracy. This battleground is where we see that freedom of expression is not guaranteed; it must be defended.”
Behind the film’s impact campaign, launching at Sheffield, are international experts Think-Film Impact Production. Founder & CEO Danielle Turkov Wilson said, “Democracy begins with literacy; The Librarians shows us it cannot end with silence.”
The film premieres on Friday 20th June at Sheffield DocFest, with a second screening on Sunday 22nd June.
