Month: October 2025

Film Thoughts: The Librarians

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

I attended a conference this week where the organizers arranged a screening of the newly released documentary The Librarians. In a room of ~400 people, at least 200 of us shed tears during the viewing.

Working in the profession in one of those states, I have been well aware of the growing attacks on books, libraries and librarians. But it was an extra level of intense seeing actual interviews and footage of people who have served their communities, for decades in some cases, slandered and under attack for working to preserve access to literature, for dedicating their lives to igniting a love of reading, for insisting on inclusion for every person who comes through the door.

Some have lost their jobs. Some have fled the homes they loved to start over in a new place. Some have had to hire security (on librarian wages!) One was pictured driving through her hometown saying something like, “I have made sure everyone here knows I do own a gun.” This in response to death threats she has received. All because they want kids and adults to have access to books that combat racism or affirm the dignity of LGBTQ individuals.

I very nearly ugly cried (mild spoiler alert) when the filmmakers interviewed the gay son of a woman who has crusaded in the most vile way against school librarians for having books with diverse characters and messages of acceptance. He ultimately decided to go speak against his mother’s message at the same school board where she had been showing up and making a spectacle.

Mixed in with the tears in the room were cheers for these folks who have been thrust into the role of intellectual freedom warriors, a battle they didn’t anticipate. Importantly. the documentary pulls back the curtain on some of the behind-the-scenes funding and organization behind the pro-censorship groups.

If you get a chance, I highly recommend a viewing of this movie. But have your hanky ready.

See the trailer here.

After you watch it, check out these sites for information on protecting the right to read:

5 Ways to Fight Book Bans–PEN America

Unite Against Book Bans

ALA Get Involved–Banned and Challenged Books

In Missouri, there’s the Right to Read Coalition.

Jane Goodall, Secretary

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

― Jane Goodall

Photo from the Jane Goodall Institute

I assume everyone has by now heard the news of Jane Goodall’s passing. Like many others, I found inspiration in her achievements. I admire the work of anyone who helps us deepen our understanding of life on this planet and our place within that web. The older I get, the more my philosophy and sense of ethics boils to down to “everything is connected.”

But Goodall inspired me in another way. Several years ago, while I was creating my own unorthodox educational path toward my personal goals, I went to hear her speak. And she told the story of how she got started in the study of chimps in the wild, which is that she went to secretarial school.

As a young woman, she already knew her dream was to travel to Africa and learn about wildlife. But she didn’t have the money for college, and pathways were not created for women of modest means. So she and her mother together cooked up a plan that Jane would qualify as a secretary so that she could find work anywhere, save her money to travel to Africa, and hopefully get a clerical job with someone who was doing the research she dreamed of. A foot in the door at the right place.

Through hard work, lots of brain power and the support of her mother, the plan was stunningly successful. Goodall first worked for Dr. Louis Leakey at a natural history museum. But he was so impressed with her, he decided she would be the perfect candidate to send out to observe the chimpanzees. When she eventually did embark on PhD studies many years later, she did so without ever having done any formal undergraduate work.

Hearing this story at that time in my life meant more to me than anyone could have imagined. It’s a vast understatement to say my own personal accomplishments pale in comparison to Dr. Goodall’s, but they mean a lot to me. I believe a lot of us should take her lesson to heart. If you feel a strong calling but don’t see a road to it, get creative, come at it sideways, build a road.

I’ll wrap up with another of my favorite Jane Goodall quotes: “It actually doesn’t take much to be considered a difficult woman. That’s why there are so many of us.”

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