Film: Free for All: The Public Library Screening and Discussion

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 served as City Librarian for the San Francisco Public Library for 13 years, where he led a transformative $200 million capital improvement program, completing the renovation of 16 neighborhood branches and constructing eight new libraries. Under his leadership, SFPL was named Library Journal’s Library of the Year in 2018. Before his tenure in San Francisco, he directed the Pasadena Public Library and held leadership roles in the San Diego and Long Beach Public Library Systems.

Throughout his 40-year career, Herrera has been committed to positioning them as vital community assets. Since 2018, he has consulted with libraries nationwide on organizational development, strategic planning and leadership training, contributing to projects for Tacoma Public Library, Boise Public Library and others. A champion for equity and leadership development, he has coached in programs such as the California Racial Equity Initiative and Pacific Library Partnership’s GOLD program. His accolades include being named Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year in 2012 and induction into the California Library Hall of Fame in 2019.

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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