Join us for a special screening & discussion of this documentary about how public libraries shaped the country and continue to be a sanctuary for Americans everywhere. Free for All tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who made a simple idea happen. From the pioneering women behind the “Free Library Movement” to today's librarians who service the public despite working in a contentious age of closures and book bans, meet those who created a civic institution where everything is free and the doors are open to all. The 60-min screening will be followed by a conversation with Alyce Jackson (director of Chillicothe Public Library) and Roberta Koscielski (retired deputy director of Peoria Public Library and 2020 Illinois Library Association Librarian of the Year).
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD45tDYf6qU
Please note: We’ll be watching a shortened version of the film, and you can watch the entire film when Free for All: The Public Library premieres on PBS/WTVP on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 10/9c.