National Book Festival

Despite rainy forecasts, more than 120,000 book lovers flocked to
the eighth annual National Book Festival held September 27, 2008 on
the National Mall. Many families visited the Pavilion of the States
supported for the seventh year by the Institute of Museum and
Library Services (IMLS). The free festival was sponsored by the
Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush.

The Pavilion of the States is extremely popular among families.
Children raced to each state table getting state stamps on their
maps of America. Those who completed the map visited the IMLS table
to receive their prize: a free book called "Save it! A Kid's Guide
to Collecting and Conserving" by Francie Alexander, Scholastic's
Chief Academic Officer.

IMLS also distributed 6,000 free fans entitled, "What's In Your
Collection?" which included information on the Institute's
Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a national initiative
to raise public awareness of the importance of caring for our
treasures. For more information about the initiative, please go to
<URL:http://www.imls.gov/collections>.

For those who were unable to attend the festival, authors'
presentations are available as podcasts at

    <URL:http://www.loc.gov/podcasts>.

To see photos taken at every state library table, visit

    <URL:http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/100208_list.shtm>.


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                 Distributed: Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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