PBS: How the Public Library Became an American Civic Institution | Full Documentary | Independent Lens

Official website:  https://to.pbs.org/IL_2024 | #IndieLensPBS

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.

Watch these scenes:

08:51 The First Public Library in America 11:21 Benjamin Franklin’s Public Works

29:04 Immigrants & Urban Libraries

Learn more: 

USCIS.gov: Libraries

Libraries play a critical role in serving immigrant communities. Through our joint effort with IMLS, we plan to educate librarians, and in turn their immigrant customers, on topics ranging from naturalization, the unauthorized practice of immigration law, and the importance of digital literacy.

• Library and Adult Education Citizenship Activities (PDF, 410 KB)
  Citizenship-related activities for libraries, such as welcoming and encouragement activities, community-outreach activities, and education-oriented activities.
• Assisting English Language Learners in Your Library (PDF, 139 KB)
  Suggestions for helping your English language learning patrons.
• Library Tours with ESL Classes (PDF, 190 KB)
  Tips for working with English as a second language (ESL) teachers and inviting new patrons to your library to help them explore the vast range of services and resources you provide.
• Creating a Citizenship Review Class in a Public Library (PDF, 499 KB)
  This tip sheet will give an overview of citizenship review classes and provide a sample model.

More Citizenship resources are available at National Library Week.