Thursday, October 8, 2026
4:00 p.m. 
Graham Hall, Brown Fine Arts Center

Join us for a screening of the 2025 Emmy Award-winning documentary The Librarians, a film the New York Times describes as “gripping… as well-crafted as it is profoundly alarming.” Stay for a Q&A with Librarians Executive Producer Amber Alonso, Dean of Libraries Nancy S. Kirkpatrick, and banned books activist and Smith student Julia Garnett ’28.

The screening is sponsored by the Friends of Smith College Libraries.

About the Film

As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy, flanked by concerned community members and young readers. The Librarians is a chilling cautionary tale and rallying cry for freedom – told through the personal experiences of librarians under siege and the everyday patriots who join their ranks in defense of the books.

In 2026, Librarians director and producer Kim A. Snyder won an Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking.

Banned Books Week

This screening is part of Banned Books Week. First held in 1982, Banned Books Week was launched in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. Held in the last week of September or first week of October, the annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.

Contact

Mary Irwin, Library Development Officer: mirwin@smith.edu