Film: Free For All: The Public Library

https://jfi.org/programs/calendar/free-for-all-the-public-library

Directors Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor expected to attend

One of the most valued yet endangered institutions, public libraries were founded on a visionary principle: to create a space where anyone can access a universe of information, free of charge. Director Dawn Logsdon travels across the United States, uncovering the stories of historic and modern-day figures who have shaped libraries into pillars of democracy. From the Lower East Side of New York to the Chinatowns of the American West, this inquisitive documentary examines how libraries have supported immigrant communitiesand how those communities, in turn, have shaped public libraries. It draws stark parallels between the book bans of Nazi Germany and those happening today across the U.S., probing the ways in which the institution has upheld the core values of accessibility and intellectual freedom. Free For All: The Public Library celebrates the civic institution where communities arebuilt, futures are imagined, and, in Jewish tradition, the pursuit of knowledge is valued and encouraged.