The events of this past Saturday and Sunday were a booklover’s dream. Over a hundred authors – those normally reserved folks that a reader may only know through his or her words and a two-dimensional photo on the dust jacket – took to the stage to speak about their craft and also spent time signing hard-copy versions (yes, they do still exist!) of their work. If you attended either day of the National Book Festival, I hope you came away with the sense that reports of the demise of the book are an exaggeration.
I also hope you got a sense of the Library of Congress itself. Many of the volunteers and author introducers were Library staff. The Library had its own tent, where visitors could learn more about the Library’s divisions and programs. As we mentioned last Friday, the Law Library also took to the stage to talk about its collections, services, and products. Below are two shots from Sunday’s program.
Andrew Weber, Legislative Information Systems Manger at the Law Library, spoke about Congress.gov as a resource for free legislative information. He talked about the latest enhancements and how to make the best use of the site.
Robert Newlen, Assistant Law Librarian for Legislative and External Affairs, interviewed William C. Burton, author of Burton’s Legal Thesaurus – a reference tool of “legal terms, synonyms, definitions, and parts of speech.” Mr. Burton talked about his experience working with publishers and the publishing process.
Comments (2)
I echo your feelings Donna.
I loved the LOC events, the chairs being close to the authors, and the accessibility of the staff.
Have you heard that the event might move away from the Mall next year?
These are a couple of interesting photos of photos.
I experienced a Congress.gov talk this summer at the AALL conference, but it did not have that spectacular backdrop of the vaulted ceiling and sky lights. I would have remembered!
The other image, looking down on the reading room, is impressive, too.
Are those eletronic displays – some kind of giant, but very flat LCD panels?