The Librarians with Director Kim A. Snyder, Producer Maria Cuomo Cole, Librarian Martha Hickson, and ALA President-Elect Maria McCauley

7 Stories Up at SNFL presents a special screening of the internationally celebrated documentary, The Librarians, followed by a conversation with director Kim A. Snyder, producer Maria Cuomo Cole, and librarian Martha Hickson, moderated by ALA President-Elect Dr. Maria McCauley.

This event will take place in person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library in the 7th Floor Event Space.

The film runs 92 minutes. Watch the trailer here.

Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and our First Amendment Rights in this film from award-winning director Kim A. Snyder, The Librarians. 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.

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Kim A. Snyder is an Academy Award® nominee and Peabody Award-winning Director/Producer whose latest feature, The Librarians, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and released globally in late 2025. Her Oscar-nominated short Death by Numbers, co-created with gun-violence survivor Sam Fuentes, has won multiple awards. Snyder’s acclaimed films include US Kids (Sundance 2020), Lessons from a School Shooting (Netflix Original), and Newtown (Sundance 2016, Peabody Award, PBS). Her earlier work includes Welcome to Shelbyville (PBS) and I Remember Me (Zeitgeist Films). She also associate produced the Oscar-winning short "Trevor", which spawned The Trevor Project. Snyder holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins SAIS and lives in New York City.

Peabody and Emmy Award-winning producer Maria Cuomo Cole’s credits include the Oscar-Nominated Death by Numbers (2024, Montclair - Best Short Doc), Us Kids (Sundance 2020), Lessons from a School Shooting… (Netflix), Newtown (Sundance 2016) and Oscar-shortlisted Living for 32 (2010). EP: The Hunting Ground (2015) and Oscar-nominated The Invisible War (2014).

Martha Hickson recently retired after 20 years as a high school librarian. Her work has been featured in School Library Journal, Booklist, and CNN Online. Her defense of intellectual freedom has been recognized with awards from the NJ Association of School Librarians, the NJ Library Association, the American Association of School Librarians, and the National Council of Teachers of English. In 2022, the National Coalition Against Censorship presented Martha with the Judith Krug Outstanding Librarian Award, and the American Library Association awarded Martha with the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity in recognition of her "energy and bravery in the face of ... persistent and ongoing hostility," while advocating for students' First Amendment right to read.

Dr. Maria McCauley is Director of Libraries for the City of Cambridge. She leads a team of 166 talented staff members and works closely with three boards and across the city to achieve an inclusive, ambitious vision of library services for all. Maria began her library career years ago at CPL in Circulation and Reference Services. She is the 2025 – 2026 president-elect of the American Library Association and was the Past President of the Public Library Association, a division of ALA. As a former member of ALA’s Committee on Legislation, Maria has represented Massachusetts in legislative fly-ins to articulate funding and legislative asks to Congress. She also advocates for funding for libraries and legislation on the state level. Maria has advocated for the freedom to read on NBC10 Boston and submitted written testimony in support of intellectual freedom and libraries. Maria is global thought leader in the library leadership space. She has spoken on topics such as the evolving role of libraries, advancing inclusiveness, intellectual freedom, and courage and leadership, for audiences in Massachusetts, across the United States, and internationally, including Spain, South Korea, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and more. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University, a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a PhD from Simmons.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

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Please submit all press inquiries to Connor Goodwin at least 48 hours before the event: email connorgoodwin@nypl.org.
 

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All programs are subject to change or cancellation. All programs are subject to recording and photography.

The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).