© 2025 SDPB
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Urge the Senate to Protect Public Media Funding! Click HERE to find out how you can act!

How public libraries became 'palaces for the people'

Ways To Subscribe

On today's show...

We begin with a library in Milbank expanding its programs to fit a changing community.

Tammy Wollschlager, director of the Grant County Public Library, talks about how her small-town library is helping neighbors be more neighborly (1:00 to 8:21).

Josh Easter with the South Dakota State Library discusses the programming that helps every South Dakotan access books (8:21 to 18:37).

The new PBS Independent Lens documentary "Free for All: The Public Library" explores the history of the American library. Its filmmakers preview how libraries have shaped communities and how communities have shaped libraries (18:37 to 43:01).

Learn more about SDPB's "Free for All" community screenings.

Plus, we return to a previous conversation about librarians and spycraft with author Elyse Graham (43:01 to 49:12). Find the full interview here.

Lori Walsh is the host and senior producer of "In the Moment."
Ari Jungemann is a producer of In the Moment, SDPB's daily news and culture broadcast.
Ellen Koester is a producer of In the Moment, SDPB's daily news and culture broadcast.