Librarian Amanda Jones has been named to the Time100 Next list, Time magazine’s spotlight on the world’s most influential rising stars.
Jones—who was recognized in 2021 as School Librarian of the Year by School Library Journal for her work at a Louisiana middle school—has become a national voice for intellectual freedom and democracy. After making a speech against book censorship at her local library board in July 2022, Jones received death threats and experienced harassment, bullying, and more. Facing the fight head-on, she became one of the first librarians in the U.S. to file a defamation lawsuit against her detractors.
Jones told her story in her debut memoir, “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America,” which was released in 2024. The book details her fight against censorship in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, and of the rise in attacks on librarians and intellectual freedom across the U.S.
When Jones went public with her story, hundreds of other librarians reached out to her describing similar experiences. She decided to join professional boards, conference panels, and associations like the American Library Association (ALA) to speak out about the hate they faced. In 2023, Oprah Winfrey praised Jones’s work at the National Book Awards.
Actor Sarah Jessica Parker was effusive with praise for Jones in the Time spotlight.
“Libraries are the heartbeat of our communities. An essential gateway for information and self-discovery,” Parker wrote. “It has been a privilege to get to know Amanda through her work and the upcoming documentary “The Librarians.” She is beyond deserving of wider recognition.”
Take action
Alarmed by the escalating attempts to censor books? Here are six steps you can take now to protect the freedom to read.
- Follow news and social media in your community and state to keep apprised of organizations working to censor library or school materials.
- Show up for library workers at school or library board meetings and speak as a library advocate and community stakeholder who supports a parent’s right to restrict reading materials for their own child but not for all
- Help provide a safety net for library professionals as they defend intellectual freedom in their communities by giving to the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund.
- Educate friends, neighbors, and family members about censorship and how it harms communities. Share information from Banned Books Week.
- Join the Unite Against Book Bans movement and visit our Fight Censorship page to learn what you can do to defend the freedom to read in your community
- Become an ALA Supporter and help us fight for libraries and everyone’s freedom to read.
Become a Supporter
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Photo: Credit: Kathryn & Traveis Photography; Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing
