When you invite librarians somewhere, expect to walk away with more than what you started with.
A partnership between New Haven’s Shubert Theater and PBS ended up becoming a citywide library pop-up movie screening tour this month, hitting all five branches of the New Haven Free Public Library with the not-yet-released documentary film Free For All: The Public Library. I caught up with the tour’s third stop Saturday afternoon, at the library’s Ives branch downtown.
The movie, created by filmmakers Laurie Faulkner and Dawn Logsdon, describes the history of public libraries and their modern role as a hub for social services. It tells stories of the library’s journey to becoming a “cathedral of the people,” including rare tidbits like the fact that Melvil Dewey of the Dewey Decimal System was a womanizer who established the country’s first librarian schools, where over 90 percent of the students were women.
Kelly Wuzzardo, director of education and engagement at the Shubert, said the organization originally screened the film for an audience of library staff at its theater downtown, and the staff responded by asking, “Please, can we bring this to the library?”
In a voiceover near the beginning of the film, Logsdon promises to illustrate how the public library went from being one of the country’s “least controversial” institutions to a “battleground in the ongoing culture wars.” The movie didn’t end up delving too far into into that progression — which Saturday’s audience commented on — but where the documentary had gaps, the real-life discussion at the Ives branch stepped in.
Part of the point of Saturday afternoon’s screening, as well as all of the other screenings held through the Shubert’s partnership with PBS, was the talk-back afterward. Audience members’ main questions were about the challenges the New Haven library system stands to face under President Donald Trump’s administration.
On March 31, the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency halted activity at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an organization dedicated to funding museums and libraries across the U.S. through grants. Rory Martorana, public services administrator at the New Haven Free Public Library, explained at Friday’s post-film discussion that though New Haven’s library system does not receive funds from the IMLS, eventually Connecticut will feel the impact anyway — “I’m hoping minimally” — through the breakdown of IMLS-funded programs like InterLibrary Loan.
Martorana also encouraged people in the audience to attend New Haven’s city budget hearings to advocate for the library, emphasizing the importance of the “human connection.” She said you can testify or submit a letter, and that it doesn’t have to be long. It can just be a statement that “the library helped me with this,” Martorana said. There is an upcoming meeting on April 30, where the library will show their budget presentation to the Board of Alders. “We’re not asking for a lot this budget season,” Martorana remarked, noting the library still does not have a full 1 percent of the city’s budget.
For those without deep pockets or the time to attend a budget hearing, the simple act of using the library is a major way to support it. Data regarding the community’s engagement with the library come into play when the library has to fight for funding, both Wuzzardo and Martorana explained.
The two made a point to spread the word about the New Haven library system’s variety of offerings, including cake pans and tax assistance. VITA, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at the library, was full when I visited Saturday. Martorana said the library is connected to a large network of social services in the area, even going so far as to employ a case worker, and is often able to refer people to the resources they need.
If what PBS was aiming for through their partnership with the Shubert was some kind of productive conversation, they got their money’s worth. The discussion with librarians at the theater led to a five-stop tour at all of New Haven’s public library branches, and Saturday afternoon’s discussion at the Ives branch gave audience members practical information about upcoming budget hearings and community resources. Leave it to the library to turn everything into something more.
The Shubert Theater’s next free public screening through their partnership with PBS is We Want the Funk, on Wednesday, April 16 at 6 p.m. at their theater downtown. They will offer free pizza and cookies. After that is Matter of Mind: My Alzheimers, on Wednesday, May 14. The theater continues their library tour of Free For All: The Public Library at the New Haven Free Public Library’s Fair Haven branch on Thursday, April 17 at 5 p.m. and at the Stetson branch on Wednesday, April 23 at 5 p.m. Free For All: The Public Library will premiere on April 29 on PBS.
