![\"SUNY](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SUNY_NYSED_b79db960-d1ad-4363-afe4-de37288abda5.png\")
With Special Screening and Expert Panel<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
With Special Screening and Expert Panel<\/p>\n
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Leading Voices to Examine the Growing Impact of Censorship on Libraries Nationwide<\/p>\n
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The\u00a0New York State Library<\/a>,\u00a0State Museum<\/a>, and\u00a0Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting<\/a>\u00a0are pleased to announce\u00a0a distinguished panel of experts\u00a0for\u00a0a timely\u00a0discussion\u00a0on the impact of book bans and censorship. The panel will follow a special screening of\u00a0\u201cThe Librarians<\/a>\u201d\u00a0on\u00a0Saturday, April 25, beginning at\u00a02:00 p.m. at the New York State Museum\u2019s Huxley Theater.\u00a0The documentary chronicles a courageous national network of librarians confronting the accelerating wave of book restrictions reshaping library collections\u2014and access to knowledge\u2014across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moderated by James\u202fPaleologopoulos,\u202fProducer for\u202fWAMC\/Northeast Public Radio\u2019s\u202fOn the Road<\/a>,\u00a0the discussion\u00a0will\u00a0feature\u00a0the following\u00a0panelists:<\/p>\n
Lauren Moore\u00a0is the\u00a0New York State Librarian.\u00a0In this role, she leads the Regent Joseph E. Bowman Research Library, one of the oldest and largest research libraries in the country, along with the NYS Talking Book and Braille Library and the Division of Library Development. The New York State Library provides vital support and oversight to a network of over 7,000 libraries throughout the state.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brian Jones\u00a0is\u00a0Senior Director of Reading and Engagement at the New York Public Library. A longtime educator, he served as the inaugural director of NYPL’s Center for Educators & Schools, and as associate director of education at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He writes about Black education history and politics and is the author of two books,\u202fThe Tuskegee Student Uprising: A History\u202fand\u202fBlack History Is for Everyone.<\/p>\n
Emily\u00a0Drabinski\u00a0is\u00a0Associate Professor and Chair of the Queens College School of Information Studies at the City University of New York. Her latest book is the co-authored\u00a0Organize Your Library! Building the Collective Power of Library Users\u00a0(ALA Editions).\u202fDrabinski\u202fserved as 2023-24 President of the American Library Association during a time of unprecedented, organized censorship activity. She is the recipient of multiple awards including the Publishing Triangle\u2019s Torchbearer Award for her work in support of queer voices.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reanna Esmail\u00a0is the\u00a0Lead\u00a0Librarian for\u00a0Instruction at Cornell University\u202fand\u202f2024-2025 Association for Research Libraries Leadership and Career Development Fellow and Minnesota Institute\u00a0alum.\u202fShe is a columnist for American Libraries magazine,\u00a0member of the\u00a0Library Freedom Project, steering committee member for Librarians and Archivists with Palestine, and a member of New York State Library\u2019s Regents Advisory Council.\u202fReanna previously served as a co-primary investigator\u00a0on\u00a0an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)\u00a0funded grant project to create open educational resources for algorithmic literacy.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amanda Hoffman\u00a0has been working in libraries since the end of 2022.\u202fShe started at Rockwell Falls Public Library as a library clerk and eventually became the library assistant.\u202fThere, she\u00a0helped lead the library through public\u00a0reaction to a scheduled Drag Queen Story Hour.\u00a0She is currently pursuing a\u202fMaster’s in Library and Information Science\u202ffrom Syracuse University’s\u202fiSchool. In the future, she would like to be a programming librarian for children and\/or teens in public libraries.<\/p>\n
New York State Librarian Lauren Moore\u00a0said, \u201cLibraries are at the heart of a growing national conversation about access to information and the freedom to read.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0proud to bring together a group of leaders who are not only\u00a0witnessing\u00a0these challenges\u00a0firsthand, but\u00a0actively working to address them. The New York State Library is committed to supporting local libraries and providing necessary guidance and support. This discussion will highlight the critical role libraries play in ensuring people everywhere can explore ideas, access knowledge, and engage with diverse perspectives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u202fFrom Oscar-nominated Director and Producer Kim A. Snyder (“Death\u00a0By\u00a0Numbers,” \u201cNewtown,\u201d \u201cUs Kids\u201d) and Executive Producer Sarah Jessica Parker, \u201cThe Librarians\u201d takes viewers\u00a0across the country, where local libraries have become unexpected battlegrounds in a national struggle over intellectual freedom,\u00a0parental control,\u00a0and democracy itself. Sparked by the controversial \u201cKrause List,\u201d which targets 850 books centered on race and LGBTQIA+ stories, the film takes a deep investigative dive into the escalating movement against book banning. The film captures the courage and resilience of the everyday heroes, librarians, as well as concerned parents and students flanking them, who have become first responders in the fight for the freedom to read, standing defiantly against censorship at all costs.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Guests\u00a0are\u00a0invited to try\u00a0zine-making with help from the Albany Zine Club and\u00a0take home\u00a0free event posters and bags from Circus, along with books from The\u00a0RED\u00a0Bookshelf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This event\u00a0is presented\u00a0with collaboration by\u00a0ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS, and the New York State Library. The evening\u00a0will begin with\u00a0the tabling activities, followed by\u00a0a screening of the film\u00a0in\u00a0the Huxley Theater\u00a0and the\u00a0panel discussion.\u202fPanelists\u00a0will discuss the challenges libraries face today, their\u202fpersonal experiences\u202fin the battle against censorship, and their suggestions for what libraries and their supporters can do in the continuing struggle for intellectual freedom.<\/p>\n
About the New York State Library \u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u202fNew York State Library<\/a>,\u202festablished\u202fin 1818, is the largest state library system in the nation and one of the largest research libraries in North America. It oversees a vast network of more than 7,000 libraries statewide. Collections are made available onsite and through a robust interlibrary loan program. The\u202fLibrary\u2019s\u202fmission is advanced through several key divisions,\u202fincluding the\u202fResearch Library<\/a>, which houses a collection of over 20 million items, the\u202fTalking Book and Braille Library<\/a>, and the\u202fDivision of Library Development<\/a>. The\u202fLibrary\u202fpreserves and\u00a0maintains\u00a0invaluable historical collections and\u00a0works, and\u00a0serves as a Regional Depository for federal publications. Additionally, the State Library is the\u202fofficial repository<\/a>\u202fof New York State\u00a0government\u00a0publications, ensuring their enduring preservation and accessibility for future generations.<\/p>\n
For more information, please visit\u202fthe New York State Library website<\/a> and\u202fsubscribe to our monthly newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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With Special Screening and Expert Panel
Leading Voices to Examine the Growing Impact of Censorship…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-182275","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-headlines","10":"tag-new-york-news","11":"tag-new-york-state","12":"tag-new-york-state-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-state-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}