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September 12, 2000
Press contact: Guy Lamolinara (202) 707-9217
Public contact: Center for the Book (202) 707-5221

Center for the Book to Participate in "New York Is Book Country" Book Fair on September 24

For the eighth consecutive year, the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will participate in "New York Is Book Country," one of the nation's largest and busiest book fairs. More than 250,000 book lovers are expected to attend the fair.

"Book fairs are an increasingly important way of stimulating interest in books and reading," said John Y. Cole, the center's executive director. "Nearly half of the Center for the Book's 40 state affiliates are involved in annual fairs at the regional and state level, and each year our national center participates in several of the major fairs."

"New York Is Book Country" will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24, on Fifth Avenue between 48th and 57th streets. Center for the Book brochures and program information will be distributed at booths shared with two of the center's national reading promotion partners, Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). The Center for the Book-FOLUSA booth will feature a "readathon" for fairgoers of all ages.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress was established in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books, reading and libraries. In 1991 the center published a 101-page volume, Fanfare for Words: Bookfairs and Book Festivals in North America by Bernadine Clark, which is out-of-print but available in many libraries. For current information about book fairs throughout the United States, as well as the center's projects and publications, visit its Web site at www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook.

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PR 00-137
9/12/00
ISSN 0731-3527