Thomas Mann House Events

"The Librarians" – On Censorship and Book Bans

October 11, 2026 1:30 pm–4:30 pm

Los Angeles Public Library (Central Branch)

Photo collage of 18th century city planning documents, modern digital city plans, and satellite imagery.

Language: English

Info

Join us for a public screening of the award-winning documentary film "The Librarians" (2025)! The film follows librarians across the United States who resist growing efforts to ban books from schools and public libraries. Facing harassment, threats, and the risk of losing their jobs, they emerge as courageous defenders of intellectual freedom, young people’s access to information, and democratic rights. In celebration of the Los Angeles Public Library’s 100th anniversary and on the occasion of Banned Book Week 2026, the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Public Library invite to a screening of the film, followed by an in-depth discussion featuring Kim Snyder, Oscar-nominated and Peabody award-winning filmmaker and director of "The Librarians", John Szabo, the City Librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, and Taylor Dwyer, USC Special Collections Librarian. Moderated by Nikki High, owner of the independent bookshop Octavia's Bookshelf.

Libraries are more than repositories of books: they are essential democratic institutions that provide access to knowledge, preserve diverse perspectives, and create spaces for open inquiry. Librarians play a vital role in protecting these spaces and ensuring that information remains accessible to all, even in the face of political pressure and censorship. Thomas Mann, whose works were banned in Nazi Germany before he was forced into exile in Los Angeles, understood firsthand what is at stake when access to ideas is restricted. The program asks what it means to defend the freedom to read today, and how libraries, cultural institutions, and citizens can uphold the open exchange of ideas on which democracy depends.

About the Film

"Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and our First Amendment Rights. As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities. In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQia+ stories – triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of extremism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work – the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.” The Librarians has won 30 film-festival awards. It has also been nominated for a 2026 Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking

This event will take place at the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles, CA 90071. It is open to the public and free of charge. Please register here.

Live ASL interpretation will be provided. For ADA accommodations, please call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.

Participants

Kim A. Snyder

Kim A. Snyder is an Academy Award nominee & Peabody Award-winning Director/Producer. Her latest feature documentary, THE LIBRARIANS, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and has been nominated for a 2026 Primetime Emmy®. THE LIBRARIANS has won 30 festival awards, was released theatrically in over 200 cities internationally, and broadcast on PBS/Independent Lens.
Her most recent short documentary, DEATH BY NUMBERS, was nominated for a 2025 Academy Award®. Snyder’s other acclaimed films include Us Kids (Sundance 2020), LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING (Best Short Doc Tribeca 2018, Netflix Original), NEWTOWN (Sundance 2016, Peabody Award, PBS/Independent Lens). She associate produced the Academy Award®-winning short TREVOR, which inspired The Trevor Project, a leading national nonprofit focused on LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention.

John Szabo

John F. Szabo is the City Librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, which serves more than four million people—the largest population of any public library in the United States. He oversees the Central Library and 72 branches. Under his leadership, the Library’s major initiatives include those related to immigrant integration and citizenship, civic engagement, digital equity, and lifelong learning. He has expanded the library’s reach into the city’s diverse communities through partnerships with several community-based organizations. He has more than 30 years of leadership experience in public libraries, previously serving as the director of four libraries including the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. Recognizing his “genuine love of community” and how he has aligned library services with the city’s priorities, John was named Library Journal’s 2025 Librarian of the Year.

Taylor Dwyer

Taylor Dwyer is Curator of Feuchtwanger Memorial Library at the University of Southern California, where she manages the rare book and archival collection of Lion and Marta Feuchtwanger, German exile collections, and Holocaust and genocide materials. She provides a range of library services including reference, instruction, exhibitions, and academic programming. She completed her undergraduate degree in History at Chapman University, and her Master of Library and Information Science at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Nikki High

Nikki High is the founder and owner of Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena, California. As an early reader, Nikki has always found safety in books, and her passion for books and storytelling continued to grow throughout her life. It is with this passion in mind and Nikki’s desire to create a literary and creative space she longed for as a child, Nikki opened the doors to Octavia’s Bookshelf on February 18, 2023. Octavia’s Bookshelf offers a highly curated selection of books across all genres written by BIPOC authors. When Nikki isn’t at the bookstore, you can find her somewhere reading (anywhere, really), working on a craft project, or hanging out with her husband and dogs, Freddie and Dayveon.

Partner

An event by the LA Public Library and the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles.