I loved Meg Stalter arriving as a life-size Emmy. I had thoughts about Shailene Woodley’s look and would like to see the necklace solo. And hat tip to Evonne Sturm and Libby McCurrach for their commentary on the couple cool of Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.
It’s not like I actually watched the 78th Primetime Emmys Sept. 14, but 6.7 million did. The same number who tuned in for the Season 35 premiere of Dancing With the Stars.
If the Emmys weren’t so predictable, maybe they’d capture our attention. Viewership was down 12% this year. Next year, it won’t air on a major broadcast network. Amazon is in talks to pick it up for streaming. The focus is always on the past – the shows we’ve already binged: Widow’s Bay, The Pitt, Hacks and Pluribus. It’s boring.
The work that mattered most — The Librarians, which was awarded Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking — wasn’t even in the room. Its award was given more than a week earlier, off-camera.
The award for a film showing how librarians across the country get threatened was handed out at the ceremony that nobody saw.
The award for a film showing how librarians across the country get threatened was handed out at the ceremony that nobody saw.
In 85 minutes, the film depicts how scary life has become for librarians. They take an oath to defend access to books covering issues like race, gender, and LGBTQIA+ themes. In turn, they are subject to harassment, political pressure, and in many cases, being fired. For doing their job.
The film focuses primarily on librarians in Florida and Texas, where I live. Two weekends ago, at a conference for creatives, I got to talking to a sculptural artist. He was from California and moved to Dallas two years after his studio burned in the fires.
“Well, you didn’t have to deal with book banning in California like you do here,” I said.
Well, you didn’t have to deal with book banning in California like you do here
He had no idea what I was talking about. Even a liberal artist wasn’t aware our tax dollars are being used to pull books off shelves and fight the librarians whose job is to protect them.
Less than 3% of the concerns over the content in books come from parents. The “concerned parent” trope is pure fiction. The pressure comes from conservative political groups who put people into public office, making them the decision makers who ultimately ban the books.
Less than 3% of the concerns over the content in books come from parents. The “concerned parent” trope is pure fiction.
A majority of censorship attempts happen in public libraries. Last year, it accounted for 51%; school libraries was 37%.
Instead of being celebrated with the actors and a global audience, librarians continue to be threatened with criminalization.
I started tuning into the book-banning topic after attending an event in Nov. 2025 at the flagship Half Price Books store in Dallas. I paid $20.39 to attend a conversation between school librarians Amanda Jones and Nancy Jo Lambert. Both were filmed for the documentary. These smart vivacious women willingly answered questions from the audience.
Amanda, who lives in Louisiana, wrote That Librarian, which talks about her experience standing up to book banning. Her child has been threatened and her parents no longer speak to her, even though they live next door.
Nancy Jo, who lives in North Texas, spoke about why she had to get off all social media, for her sanity and the safety of her family. Ultimately, she chose not to be included in the film, which was an emotional decision for her.
She censored herself out of a documentary about censorship because she is afraid of losing her taxpayer-funded job.
I cherish my signed copy of Amanda’s book. It’s displayed on my bookshelf next to my “I love my library” card I received after donating money to EveryLibrary, which is helping librarians protect books.
I’m baffled how we got here. This isn’t what I believed this country stood for.
You can stream The Librarians for free on Kanopy. It requires a library card. You have to visit a library, first, to watch a documentary about librarians.
When life stops making sense, we shop visit the library. More soon.
