‘Free for All’: Waynesboro Public Library to host preview of PBS documentary

Indie Lens Pop-Up, presented by ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS and Waynesboro Public Library will host an event featuring a shortened, preview version of “Free for All: The Public Library.”

A discussion with a Waynesboro Public Library librarian will be included in the event.

“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, a Waynesboro Public Library librarian 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” will debut on April 29, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET on PBS and the PBS app (check local listings). More information is available online.

Indie Lens Pop-Up is a community series that brings communities together for film screenings and conversations. Featuring documentaries seen on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS, Indie Lens Pop-Up draws local residents, leaders and organizations to discuss what matters most.

Waynesboro Public Library, 600 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro, will host a free preview screening of “Free for All: The Public Library” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on April 26. Registration is not required.

INDEPENDENT LENS is an Emmy® Award-winning PBS documentary series. With founding executive producer Lois Vossen, the series has been honored with 10 Academy Award nominations and features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Acton Family Giving, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Park Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts. Stream anytime on the PBS app.