The National Book Festival celebrated its 24th iteration on Saturday, August 24th as it brought dozens of authors, poets, and creators together with thousands of visitors at the Walter Washington Convention Center here in DC. If you missed it, you can still enjoy many of the author talks now online!
In order for an event like this to succeed, you need the committed work of Library of Congress staff and an army of volunteers. For this year’s event, the Preservation Directorate was out in force, both as part of the programming and part of that army of volunteers making the day a success. As visitors swarmed the carpeted walkways of the upper levels of the Convention Center, they could see us working, the heatherberry shirts worn by staff and volunteers alike. All were ready to talk to visitors like you about the Festival itself and what makes the Library so great.
The Preservation Table
Most of the Library staff working the event were found in the Library section in the main expo hall on level two. Tables were arranged similar to how the various departments are situated among the Library’s three buildings on Capitol Hill; the Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. Near the front however was the Preservation Directorate table. From 9 am to 6 pm, the table had a consistent staff of five or more Library Preservation workers. Staff from the Conservation (CD) and Preservation Research and Testing (PRTD) divisions made up most of this crew and spent the day demonstrating some of the tools of their trade.
“The Preservation table had well over a thousand visitors during the Festival,” said Preservation Education Specialist Amelia Parks. “That’s definitely an undercount.”
Common questions were about the STEM presentation earlier that day on inks and pigments, internships in Preservation or at the Library, and how to preserve personal collection items or family heirlooms. Visitors with questions about books definitely had a brain trust to pick from throughout the event, with tables for Copyright, Digitization, and Serials also nearby answering questions.
Presentations at the LOC Pavilion
Preservation staff weren’t just answering questions, some were also presenting their work as part of the program for the Festival. Front and Center in the expo hall was the LOC Pavilion, which featured a full day programming of Library staff sharing their projects and information about how the public can access the Library’s vast collections.
For the Preservation Directorate, first up was Megan Zins, a technician from PTRD. She spoke at 11:30 am with a program titled “If It’s Not Science Fiction, What Does Science Have to Do with Books Anyway?”
Zins shared her thoughts on the experience of her first presentation at a National Book Festival: “As I had never attended the National Book Festival prior to this year, I had no idea what to expect other than a crowded convention center in a city that I am still fairly new to. Truthfully, I felt nervous to volunteer at my Division’s table and give a presentation to the general public. However, my nerves dissipated as my day went on. Soon, I was able to instead feel pride in sharing what my division does with members of the public and emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of preservation.
Throughout my presentation, the crowd engaged with the topics discussed; they nodded their heads in understanding and, very thankfully, laughed at my jokes. During Q&A, I was absolutely delighted to hear specific questions pertaining to the results of the research project and applications of the findings, reassuring me that I had accomplished my goal of communicating scientific results to a general audience.”
Later in the day, PRTD Chief Fenella France gave a presentation that had the public standing six or seven persons back outside of the Pavilion attempting to hear: “Reading Under the Lines: Exposing Alexander Hamilton’s Redacted Letter to his ‘Betsey’
The presentation was only twenty minutes in length, but France has spoken on the Hamilton papers frequently over the years. All of our first Secretary of the Treasury’s private papers have been digitized as part of the Manuscript Division collections.
Presentation at STEM District
Though the LOC Pavilion had them packed in, the first Preservation presentation of the day packed a much larger space, the STEM District stage. This is the first year that a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math section was included in the Festival programming. At least from the experience of Dr. Eric Monroe, head of the Scientific Library Section of PRTD, it was a hit.
Monroe spoke on “Making and Writing with Historic Inks,” which unfortunately is not available to view on the Festival site. Before he took the stage, Monroe was worried the crowd would be small, especially since he was speaking at 9:30 am and the previous programs were lightly attended, but he was soon blown away as the crowd more than filled the space for his 30-minute talk.
Other staff from PRTD such as Specialist Kelli Stoneburner and Chemist Gwen Depolo spoke to visitors during and after the presentation, as visitors of all ages showed interest in historic inks.
Preservation Staff throughout the Festival
Bobbi Hinton as Author Escort: This year was my second year volunteering at National Book Festival as an Author Escort. Originally I was scheduled to be a “floater” which is essentially someone who is available for anything and everything the team needs to get authors to and from their stages, signing lines, and media appointments on festival day – on time. The night before the Festival, I got the call that another volunteer was unable to be at the Festival and I was to become an author’s dedicated escort. In this role, I got to greet and shadow a single author during their time at the Festival. Since this was a last-minute change, I did some quick googling and discovered I was assigned to a Young Adult (YA) Horror Fiction author – which is a genre I’ve never read much of being a big-scaredy-cat. Fortunately for me, she was not as scary as her writing and we had a great time celebrating her new book, navigating the festival schedule, and talking about good eats around town!
Ronlicia Gordon-Falls monitoring the Hall: This year was my first attendance at the NBF. My job assignment was Hall monitor 2nd level. Arriving to the festival was easy on the Metro as I followed those in this year’s pink shirt. After shmoozing with familiar faces, I stopped upstairs to receive my radio and earpiece at the security station. Once on duty, I began to introduce myself to all the volunteers in the Hall wings and explained my position, my role at the Library and, importantly, their schedules. This came in handy as I would have to fill positions from lunch till shift switch. We became short of volunteers, but for those who told me they may be available, were rotated in and out when the Festival saw a surge of visitors. The line wrapped around the corner to the restaurant area, and I called for line control volunteers. Staff all had tricks we shared with each other and important frequent questions that visitors asked.
When the crowd died down another hall monitor relieved me for a moment, so I decided to venture around. I visited the kids station, Texas and Louisiana Authors table for stamps, took a picture by the Dog Man photo booth at the Story District, and gathered resources from the STEM District to bring back for my kids to take to school. Zooming back to my post, I was stopped due to a visitor expressing concern for the autograph line not moving, as her and her friends traveled a long way to get a signature from author, Rebecca Yarros. I was able to locate a volunteer from the Junior League of Washington who oversaw the lines, and we assured them they will get a chance. We took measures to end the line, establish order, and check on everyone in all the lines. With a thumbs up the job was done. Those who gave up on the signings gathered for the quiz game lead by a former librarian in resident, in the L street bridge hall and featured an appearance by the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden.
Ashley Greek on Security: As a member of the Preservation Emergency Response Team (PERT), my work aligns with working security at the NBF. For my job, I work to help keep the collections safe and while at the NBF I work to help keep the public safe. I have been working security at the Festival since it has been held in the Convention Center over 11 years ago. This year I was assigned to the book signing lines all day. That was an interesting place to be for the whole day, especially with some very popular authors. Rebecca Yarros had the biggest fan base there!
Regina Young at Lost and Found: I volunteered to work the Festival in the Lost Persons/Lost & Found Office. In this office, I was responsible solely for the Lost & Found items that were misplaced and left behind by volunteers and participants of the Festival. I filled out the LOC/NBF Lost & Found Form providing (1) Item description (include – make, model, serial #), (2) Exact location where property was found, (3) Personal identifiers of person relinquishing property, (4) Sign my name as the attendant receiving the property and storing those items in a safe place until they were picked up and signed off by my myself or the other volunteer. Any items of value, i.e. wallets and cell phones, once completing the Lost & Found Form, those items were then taken to the Security Office for pick up by the owner. This was my first time working this station and I enjoyed working here and being able to ensure that participants and volunteers were reunited with their items.
K.F. Shovlin at the LOC Pavilion: For years I wanted to work the Festival but always had conflicts, finally finding the time starting in 2022. For that year, I worked as a docent in the Main Reading Room for the Author’s Gala the night before in the Thomas Jefferson Building. In 2023, I made it to the Festival as an usher at the LOC Pavilion, front and center on the expo floor. I returned to the LOC Pavilion this year, but this time as the Assistant Stage Captain. This was a huge step up in responsibility and I like to think that I rose to the challenge.
We were the first thing people saw on the Expo floor so our greeters had to quickly adapt to all the questions you’d expect the information desk to get. Throughout the day I supported that staff, made sure the programs stayed on schedule, double checked the computer screens around the Pavilion, and greeted every visitor with a curious smile, ready to help them in any way. The various programs of the LOC Pavilion were delightful, showing off the impressive work of Library staff on a number of subjects. Last year I was able to sit for most of the day, but this year I had to remain on my feet and somehow the crowd kept me invigorated throughout my 12-hour shift.
When it came time to write about this experience, I was determined to give the staff view showing how we all support the Library’s mission. Just as our day to day duties work in concert throughout the institution, our work at the Festival kept everything rolling with very few issues. For the visitors that joined us, they saw incredible book talks, fantastic presentations, and people committed to the sharing of knowledge and a love of reading. What’s amazing is when you realize that we actually do that everyday here at the Library. You just need to make your way to Capitol Hill or Culpeper to be a part of it.
They will soon be announcing the dates for next year’s Festival and I encourage anyone with a love of reading to do more than just attend, but to volunteer and be a part of our team. The 2024 Festival had a crowd far beyond expectations and we can only expect more for the years to come. I know that I plan to be there.
Regina Young plans to as well, saying, “I have volunteered for the National Book Festival for 3 years and I look forward to volunteering next year.”
Megan Zins put it best, “Taking the important work that we do and turning it into a discussion with those curious about preservation proved to be a deeply rewarding experience. Volunteering at the National Book Festival offered a unique opportunity to witness the impact of that work in real time, and I cannot wait to do it again next year.”
For more about the National Book Festival, visit this year’s Festival website. Be on the lookout for the announcement about the 2025 Festival!
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