Kim A. Snyder

The film follows librarians confronting an escalating wave of censorship across the country, facing harassment, threats, and laws that criminalize their work.

Academy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning director and producer Kim A. Snyder joined me via Zoom Wednesday to discuss the documentary, which will be screened across Miami-Dade County in the coming days.

Also joining the conversation was Reverend Jeffrey Dove, a pastor and community advocate featured prominently in the film.

Kim, Reverend Dove, welcome to the South Florida Roundup.

I'm Helena Acevedo.

This is the South Florida Roundup on WLRN.

I'm speaking with award-winning director and producer Kim A. Snyder about her film, The Librarians, which follows librarians confronting a growing wave of book bans and censorship across the country.

Also joining us is Reverend Jeffrey Dove, a community advocate who's featured prominently in the film.

But I'll be on panels talking about the freedom to read, talking about why you should read a banned book, why you should make your own opinion.

I want to highlight that the documentary, The Librarians, that just won an Emmy Award for merit in filmmaking, this documentary by Kim Snyder follows this issue in real, you know, in several states, Texas and notably in New Jersey, in Hunterdon Voorhees High School, my friend and colleague Martha Hickson, now retired, and also features what this looks like with parents, communities, legislators.

There's a scene in this, I won't give it all away, but there's a scene in Trenton where we're testifying before the assembly.

So I encourage you to, during this week, read a banned book, make your own opinion, attend a library board meeting, reach out to your librarian, ask questions.

The PBS film follows librarians in Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey and Texas who have been involved in disputes over efforts to remove or restrict books from schools and libraries.

Directed and produced by Kim A. Snyder, the documentary looks at both the political battles over book restrictions and the personal consequences for librarians involved, including career repercussions.

In accepting the award, Snyder framed the people featured in the documentary as defenders of First Amendment rights, and the win came during the first night of the 78th and Emmy Awards ceremonies.

I have not seen this.