Documentary and Dialogue Reflection: The Librarians

Arapahoe Libraries hosted its very first Documentary and Dialogue event in a new season of the Community Connections series, which hosted Community Conversations beginning in 2024, and Community Roundtables in 2025. Patrons gathered in Koelbel Library’s Forum Theater on a Wednesday evening to grab a box of popcorn from the popcorn machine, some candy and soda, settle into the movie theater seats as the lights dimmed, and watch the critically acclaimed 2024 film The Librarians, opens a new window. 

This documentary follows school librarians as they navigate the security and integrity of their careers brought about by an organization seeking to censor materials for minors. 

This is difficult to write about, because it is personal to my family, and it happened as quietly as the breeze through the grasses in the yard my father ponders from, in his early retirement. 

He has always held that there is wisdom in youth. It is more urgent now than ever before that we understand how to think through the contradictions inherent in difficult topics. That, for example, sometimes trying to prevent harm can cause harm. It was moving to me that the older adult audience showed up ready to defend the youth’s access to their own wisdom.  

The dialogue was receptive. A school librarian who had moved from out of state asserted that the bravery of the librarians in this film was very real, that many of them face losing their jobs over a book. Another patron said, “this was a scary movie,” noting that it’s difficult to imagine fighting this level of organization and money, that they felt as if they’re playing catch up – this movement has been in the works for a while because enough people didn’t pay attention.  

Arapahoe Librarians spoke about the district’s right to challenge process, which makes clear the policy around intellectual freedom, while ensuring patron’s concerns about materials can still be heard and reviewed. This demonstrates how facing an issue head on, rather than avoiding it, is often the best course of action. 

Patrons asked over and over what it is that they can do as concerned citizens. The dialogue offered answers of being loud, showing up to school board and library board meetings and volunteering for board candidates during election season.  

The most conclusive answer was to read. To not avoid information out of fear, to not seek to control the information others are digesting, but to read in order to understand the strange and complicated world and times we find ourselves in.