(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- The English department and the Evelyn S. Field Library at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) will present a screening of the documentary, The Librarians, on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 4:30pm. The program, which is free of charge and open to the public, will be held in the Event Center at the College's Branchburg campus.
As several hundred books featuring race and LGBTQIA+ stories are banned in Texas, Florida, and other states, librarians join forces to fight for intellectual freedom and First Amendment rights. Assisted by concerned community members and young readers, the librarians continue their efforts, in school and library board meetings across the country—including in New Jersey—with many facing harassment, threats, and more.
Directed and produced by Kim A, Snyder, The Librarians (PBS/Independent Lens) shares the personal experiences of the librarians engaged in this effort against censorship. The award-winning, 92-minute documentary premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and has been shown at festivals across the country.
Raritan Valley Community College is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, New Jersey.
Following the RVCC screening, the event will include a question-and-answer session with Martha Hickson, one of the librarians depicted in the film.
Until Martha Hickson's recent retirement from North Hunterdon High School, she spent 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 Hickson with the Judith Krug Outstanding Librarian Award. And the American Library Association awarded her the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity.
Martha Hickson
