Premieres Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS app
A beloved American institution, the public library’s founding principle is simple: build a place where anyone can enter, free of charge, and encounter a universe of ideas. “Free For All: The Public Library,” chronicles the fascinating evolution of the American public library’s trajectory, from the original “Free Library Movement” that began in the late 19th century to the present, when many libraries find themselves caught in the crosshairs of the culture wars and struggling to survive amid budget cuts and closures.
By the time she was 12, director Dawn Logsdon had visited over 100 libraries in almost every state as she and her teacher-parents road-tripped across America during their summer vacations. In “Free for All,” she and co-director Lucie Faulknor embark on a new journey—a fun and eye-opening jaunt from Louisiana to California, Massachusetts to Wisconsin, New York to Oregon, and more, visiting landmark sites in library history and uncovering the stories of the colorful personalities who shaped our libraries and the communities they serve.
The film highlights inspiring librarians, past and present, mostly women dedicated to upholding the library’s integral position within our democracy, spreading literacy, offering solace and refuge, and uplifting their communities.
Among the stories discovered is that of Ernestine Rose, a librarian on New York’s Lower East Side who was one of the early pioneers in providing books in languages other than English; she also hired the New York Public Library’s first African American librarians, including Regina Andrews, who helped transform an uptown library branch into an intellectual and artistic hub of the Harlem Renaissance.
Contemporary librarians include Elizabeth Timmons, who knows all of her rural Wisconsin patrons by name and their literary preferences, and Tameka Roby, who drives the East Baton Rouge bookmobile, providing books and other services to kids, families, and seniors. And, in the nation’s capital, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden recalls becoming “all choked up,” thinking about how she, a descendant of enslaved people, is now in charge of America’s “temple of knowledge.”
“Our hope is that this film inspires viewers to see libraries anew—as dynamic, vital institutions at the heart of democracy,” said filmmakers Faulknor and Logsdon. “Libraries are more than places where stories are stored; they are where communities are built, where futures are imagined, and where dignity is upheld.”
Watch On Your Schedule: "Free for All: The Public Library" will be available to stream with the PBS app. Watch the best of PBS anytime, anywhere on the free PBS app. Stream your favorite PBS shows on-demand and livestream shows from your local station, all from your favorite device.
Credits: Director and Producer Dawn Logsdon + Lucie Faulknor. Executive Producers: Lois Vossen, Nancy Blachman, Dominique Bravom. Stanley Nelson. Marcia Smith and Ellen Schneider.
