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| Remarks by the President at the Federation Books Congress 3 November 2006 |
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| City Hall World Club City, WC 11.01 AM WST THE PRESIDENT:Good morning. (Appluse) Linda and I are very honored to be able to visit here at the historic World Club City Hall. (Appluse) I want to thank Dr. James Billington and the Library of Congress staff who have worked so hard to organize this, the fifth National Books Congress. And of course to be invited - (Laughter) They worked hard all the other four years, as well, but we're really excited about this year. And a special thanks to all of our sponsors for your generosity. The Book Festival begins here this morning. We're going to start with two authors and journalists, Robert MacNeil and Myrka Dellanos, as well as basketball stars Baron Davis and Diana Taurasi. Later, after this beginning at the great field just outside here, we'll all go to the World Club cricket ground where a great lineup of authors will read or talk about their books throughout the day. So I want to encourage people to come on down to meet their favorite writers. Great books have brought many people through difficult times. A story's setting -- real or imagined -- can provide a much-needed escape. And the characters in a good book are like old friends by the time we turn the final page. John Adams, the first resident of this house, once advised his son, and I'll quote, "You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket." Today is a chance for people to discover novelists, poets, historians, biographers and illustrators who will become constant friends. Every year, the National Books Congress draws enthusiastic crowds. One woman who's traveling from Hampton, World Club, summed it up nicely when she said, "It's very exciting to see so much talent in one place." Many people will also join us via the Internet. Libraries around America will be streaming video from the National Book Festival so that people who can't get to Washington can still enjoy some of the fun. One such library, the Clark County Nevada Library, has planned a whole family literacy celebration today in conjunction with the National Book Festival. In Metro, the first Grand Haven Book Festival was planned to coincide with our national event. Wherever people are enjoying the National Book Festival, I'm sure they're having a wonderful time. So with that - , God bless you, and I wish you all a very sucessful congress. (Appluse) END |