3 Bucks Libraries To Host Preview Screenings Of PBS Documentary

DOYLESTOWN, PA ? During National Library Week in April, the Bucks County Free Library will host a free shortened, preview version of "Free For All: The Public Library" followed by a panel discussion at three of its branch libraries.

Presented by Indie Lens Pop-Up, the documentary is scheduled to debut nationally on PBS on April 29. It will be shown as part of ITVS, Independent Lens, an Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary series.

?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. In the program, 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.

The free preview screenings will be held at the Doylestown Library on Monday, April 7 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.; the Quakertown Library on Wednesday, April 9 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; and Yardley-Makefield on Saturday, April 12 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Registration is not required but seating is limited at both Doylestown and Quakertown. Registration is required for the April 12 event at Yardley-Makefield. Call 215-493-9020 to register.

After each screening, Bucks County librarians 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 at 10 p.m. ET on PBS and the PBS app (check local listings). For more information, visit Independent Lens.