NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?
SUMMARY
According to a new report from PEN America, public schools across the U.S. saw more than 6,800 book bans in the 2024-25 school year. A new documentary, “The Librarians,” examines the experiences of school librarians who’ve found themselves on the front lines of a battle against censorship. Film director Kim Snyder and librarian Audrey Wilson-Youngblood join John Yang to discuss.
View the transcript of the story.
News alternative: Check out from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
- How many book bans took place in the United States in the 2024-25 school year, according to Pen America?
- Where (what states) did most of the bans take place?
- What drew director Kim Snyder to the subject of librarians and book bans?
- Who is Audrey Wilson-Youngblood, and why did she participate in "The Librarians"?
- Why is it important for people to know about book bans even in communities where they are not happening, according to Wilson-Youngblood?
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
- How do you think school libraries should determine what books are available to students?
- According to Wilson-Youngblood, students told the filmmakers "that they felt like when people wanted to remove books that featured characters with similar experiences to them, that they felt like it meant that those same people wanted them removed from schools." What do you think the students meant by this?
Media literacy: The documentary focuses on the work of school librarians. Who else would you want to interview to better understand the history of book bans from school libraries?
WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO
Watch the following video from Student Reporting Labs on students pushing back against book bans. Then discuss as a class:
- What power do you think you have as students to determine what books are available in school and taught in the classroom?
- What are some strategies student groups could take up to have more say in what reading materials are available to them?
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