Submitted by the San Juan Island Library

Indie Lens Pop-Up, presented by ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS, and San Juan Island Library will host an event featuring a shortened, preview version of “Free for All: The Public Library” and a panel discussion with library staff and board members. “Free for All: The Public Library” tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who created a civic institution where everything is free and the doors are open to all.

The public library is one of America’s most valued yet endangered institutions. Director Dawn Logsdon travels the United States, discovering historic and modern-day figures, especially women, who contributed to the library’s integral position within democracy. “Free for All: The Public Library” chronicles the evolution of the nation’s public libraries, tracing the battles over who can enter, what belongs there, and who makes these decisions, while exploring how public commons are defined and defended.

After the screening, the library will host an engaging and interactive discussion about how public libraries shaped the country and continue to be a sanctuary for Americans everywhere, despite the threats to funding the civic institution has faced in recent years.

“Free for All: The Public Library” debuted on April 29, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET on PBS and the PBS app. The screening will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 5 at the San Juan Island Library.