Preview the new documentary Free for All: The Public Library and join a special conversation on public libraries with City Librarian Michael Lambert and former City Librarian Luis Herrera. Filmmakers Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor will also introduce the film.

Free for All: The Public Library 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. (NR, 80 mins., 2025. Closed captions (CC) in English.) 

After the film, stay for an onstage panel with Michael Lambert, Luis Herrera and KQED Senior Editor Rachael Myrow on San Francisco Public Library’s vision for an equitable, connected and vibrant city. 

Michael Lambert is the City Librarian for the City and County of San Francisco. During his tenure, the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) was named the 2018 National Library of the Year by Library Journal. Lambert has championed increased and equitable access to libraries through expanded hours and a fine-free library system. Lambert serves on the Children and Families First Commission, and the City’s Committee on Information Technology. He is the first Asian American to lead the San Francisco Public Library. He currently serves as the President of the Public Library Association (PLA).

Luis Herrera is the former City Librarian for the San Francisco Public Library. He has held leadership roles in Pasadena, San Diego, and Long Beach libraries and is a founding board member of the Digital Public Library of America. He serves on the Latino Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees and was named Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year in 2012. Herrera holds a B.S. from the University of Texas at El Paso, an M.L.S. from the University of Arizona, and an M.P.A. from California State University, Long Beach.

Space limited. Reservations required: kqed.org/events. (pending)

This Indie Lens Pop-Up screening is presented by KQED, San Francisco Public Library and Independent Television Service (iTVS).   

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