Thank you to those who attended the sold-out Bedford Playhouse screening of The Librarians documentary and the Bedford Hills Free Library co-sponsored panel discussion. The film revealed the alarming ways that citizen’s rights are being undermined by organized efforts to ban or challenge books in school and public libraries.
The discussion with director/producer, Kim A Snyder, producer, Maria Cuomo Cole and authors, Barbara Dee and Phil Bildner explored from personal experiences and perspectives, what has become a fight for democracy and first amendment rights in many communities across America.
NY Senate Bill S.1099 enacts the Freedom to Read Act, empowering school librarians to curate diverse collections and ensuring student access to a wide range of materials. This Senate bill aims to counter book bans by supporting library autonomy and was passed by the Senate and Assembly in 2025, heading towards the Governor's desk for signature, which must be signed by December 19.
The New York Library Association (NYLA) is calling on #LibraryAdvocates everywhere to contact Governor Hochul and urge her to sign this critical legislation today!
Join our Free to Read Book Discussions
The Bedford Hills Free Library and Antioch Baptist Church invite you to join Free to Read, an ongoing book reading discussion series. Our shared purpose is to better understand complex issues, explore our personal response to challenged and banned books, develop empathy for others, and discover our own way to protect everyone's freedom to read. To that end, we read and discuss books that have been banned or challenged. New series begins in 2026.