Roadmap to Reading and the IMLS Virtual Booth
In the Roadmap to Reading virtual exhibit hall, attendees can access content about each state's literary heritage in their virtual booths. As a Patron sponsor of the National Book Festival, the Institute of Museum and Library Services booth will showcase the ways libraries and IMLS’ programs support American Ingenuity in communities across the country. Visitors will be able to watch videos featuring Director Crosby Kemper, see the recorded appointment ceremony for this year’s National Student Poets Program, and hear stories from recent National Medals winners.
Director Crosby Kemper at the National Book Festival
Supporting American Ingenuity in Libraries and Museums: A Special Conversation and Q&A Session
Friday, September 25, 4:00 – 5:00 PM EST
This event is of particular interest to school and public librarians. It will kick off with a prerecorded conversation featuring Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Director Crosby Kemper and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Chairman Jon Parrish Peede. It will be followed by a special Q&A session with program officers from the Library of Congress and its local Centers for the Book, NEH and IMLS about grant opportunities and other opportunities specifically for libraries and museums—including our Teaching with Primary Sources grants. We invite you to participate! To get to the session, visit the Festival platform and from the top navigation bar, select “Discover State Reads,” then select “Roadmap to Reading.”
Literary Lives: Mark Doty and Jennifer Shapland
Saturday, September 26, 3:00 – 3:30 PM EST
Mark Doty, "What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life" (Norton), appears in conversation with Jenn Shapland, "My Autobiography of Carson McCullers: A Memoir" (Tin House). Effortlessly blending biography, criticism and memoir, National Book Award-winning poet and bestselling memoirist Mark Doty explores his personal quest for Walt Whitman, while Jenn Shapland encounters the love letters of Carson McCullers and a woman named Annemarie. Moderated by Crosby Kemper, executive director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
About the National Book Festival
Since its inception in 2002, the “Parade of States” at the National Book Festival has been a collaborative effort of the Center for the Book and IMLS to promote libraries, literacy, and reading. Primarily through the support of IMLS, representatives from State Libraries and Centers for the Book across the country staff State tables, interact with enthusiastic festival attendees (adults and children), and provide a wealth of information on their State’s literary heritage and its local libraries, book festivals, activities dedicated to promoting local authors and reading, and careers and opportunities in library and information science. The State tables’ themes present a balance of State literary heritage topics, as well as informing the public of impactful and important services provided by the Nation’s State Libraries. Click here to learn more about the National Book Festival.