The Librarians (feat. Erin Kummer)

Why are librarians being vilified in 2026? On this episode Laura, Bethany, and special guest Erin the librarian discuss the documentary “The Librarians”, which is currently airing on PBS.We delve into “the Krause list” from the documentary, as well as Moms for Liberty and their impact on school boards and book bans. Wetalk about how books are chosen for libraries, and the skill set librarians obtain (and generally heap lots of love on librarians and libraries). There are also occasionally sounds of a baby cooing in the background.

WARNING: the episodewill non-graphically discuss terms such as p*dophile and CSAM

Links discussed:

The Librarians on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-librarians/

The Librarians documentary website:

https://thelibrariansfilm.com/streaming/

The Krause List:https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf

Text of the emailsent by Matt Krause to selected school superintendants in Texas:https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/965725d7f01b8a25ca44b6fde2f5519b/krauseletter.pdf

Text of the billH.B. No. 3979:https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/pdf/HB03979F.pdf

Analysis of theKrause List by Danika Ellis:https://bookriot.com/texas-book-ban-list/

Moms For LibertyAcademy “Comprehensive Sexuality Education Smart Book”:https://m4lacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/M4LA_CSE-Smart-Book.pdf

The Miller Test (theSupreme Court’s definition of obscenity):

https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/miller-test/

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Intro music by Leonardo Granados