Get a sneak peek of the new documentary Free for All: The Public Library prior to its broadcast premiere—and continue the conversation locally.
Front Range Community College’s sociology program is hosting a public screening of the new documentary film Free for All: The Public Library from Emmy Award-winning Independent Lens.
Watch the movie, then join us the following week for a live panel discussion on how public libraries shaped the country and continue to be a sanctuary for Americans everywhere. Join us online—or in person at one of our three campuses.
Both events are free and open to the public.
FILM SCREENING
ABOUT THE FILM:
The public library is one of America’s most valued, yet endangered institutions. The public library system was founded on a visionary principle—to create a place where anyone can enter and encounter a universe of ideas, free of charge. 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 spaces are defined and defended.
The film 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.
Free for All: The Public Library | Official Trailer | Independent Lens | PBS
What:
Screening of Free for All: The Public Library
When:
Friday, February 14 | Noon-1:00 pm
Watch Online:
PANEL DISCUSSION
Join us for a conversation about libraries and their purpose. If you enjoy the film—and/or it leaves you with burning questions you’d like to discuss—please attend this special interactive live conversation with these experts:
- Mychal Threets—Resident Librarian, PBS
- Brooky Parks—Business and Economics Reference Librarian, University of Denver
- A fifth-grade student impacted by book bans
What:
Panel Discussion on Libraries and Their Purpose
The panel discussion will be followed by a live drag story time and banned book giveaways from 11:30 – 12:30 on all three FRCC campuses.
When:
Wednesday, February 19
11:00 – 11:30 AM
Join Virtually or In Person:
Come to an In-Person Watch Party of the Panel Discussion:
FRCC’s Larimer Campus
Longs Peak Student Center—Conference rooms
4616 S. Shields Street in Fort Collins
—Or—
FRCC’s Westminster Campus
Room C-0577
(Near entrance 2—look for the flagpoles by the rotunda)
3645 W. 112th Avenue in Westminster
—Or—
FRCC’s Boulder County Campus
Classroom Building – Room C-1774
2121 Miller Dr. in Longmont
FILM THEMES/DISCUSSION TOPICS: libraries, public spaces, education, free speech, book bans, library funding and struggles in the digital age.
FOR MORE ABOUT THE FILM:
For more information or accommodations, please contact:
Kristina.kahl@frontrange.edu or Kalynn.amundson@frontrange.edu.
About Indie Lens Pop-Up
Indie Lens Pop-Up is a neighborhood series that brings people together for film screenings and community-driven conversations. Featuring documentaries seen on PBS’s Independent Lens, Indie Lens Pop-Up draws local residents, leaders and organizations together to discuss what matters most, from newsworthy topics, to family and relationships. Make friends, share stories and join the conversation. For more information, visit www.pbs.org/independentlens/indie-lens-pop-up.
About Independent Lens
Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing on PBS Monday nights at 10:00 PM. The acclaimed series, with Lois Vossen as executive producer, features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by ITVS, the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding from PBS, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more visit pbs.org/independentlens. Join the conversation: facebook.com/independentlens and on Twitter @IndependentLens.
About Front Range Community College
Front Range Community College offers more than 200 degrees and certificates in a wide variety of programs from locations in Boulder County, Larimer County and Westminster—as well as online. FRCC is a member of the Colorado Community College System.
About the Colorado Community College System
The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) is the state’s largest system of higher education, serving 114,000 students annually at 13 colleges and 35 locations across Colorado. Our open access mission ensures all Coloradans who aspire to enrich their lives have access to quality higher education opportunities.
