On Thursday, May 15, Sarah Jessica Parker received the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award from PEN America for being an “indispensable defender” of the freedom to read. She was presented the award at the PEN America Literary Gala, in part for her role as executive producer of The Librarians documentary. PEN America also cited Parker for uplifting underrepresented voices through her publishing imprint, SJP Lit.

[READ: School Librarians Celebrated at Sundance Film Festival Screening of Documentary, The Librarians]

Author and journalist Patrick Radden Keefe presented the award to Parker.

Sarah Jessica Parker Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for PEN America

"I’m humbled to be among such brilliant company, and proud to support an organization that defends the freedom to write, and in turn, the freedom to read," Parker said.

"Books have been, for as long as I can recall, my most reliable companion. Growing up, as Patrick mentioned, my mother—the most voracious reader I know—never let us leave the house without something to read. Libraries were a constant, no matter how many times we moved, there was always a librarian directing me toward a book I was seeking and, perhaps more importantly, a book that made the world feel bigger and more possible.

"Today, as a publisher, a parent, and a reader still astonished and in awe of what books can do, I’m deeply concerned, no exasperated, no, this occasion calls for a precise word, I am enraged about the rising tide of book bans in public school libraries, community libraries and the recent ban of books at the US Naval Academy library. However, I’m also incredibly moved by the librarians and advocates pushing back, like the FReadom Fighters who are standing up for the right to read, often at great personal risk, and people like Skip Dye, a tireless library champion who's made sure books and the people who fight for them don’t get lost in the noise and current chaos.

"To censor a book is to limit imagination, curiosity, connection, empathy, and inspiration. Libraries aren’t just buildings with shelves, they are warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and sanctuaries of possibility. The heartbeat of a neighborhood.

"This year, as a Booker Prize juror, I’ve read even more than usual, and it’s only deepened my belief that books change us. They open us, they often gut us. They transport us across time and place and connect us to experience. They are not luxuries. They are necessities.

"So thank you for this honor, and for reminding me once again why literature matters. Let’s keep doing this work, together."