2002 National Book Festival: Second Annual Event Celebrates the Power of Words

摘要

Readers and collectors by the thousands put down their books long enough on a damp, gray Saturday to see and hear their favorite authors at the second National Book Festival organized and sponsored by the Library and hosted by first lady Laura Bush. Neither the weather nor grim news reports of regional sniper attacks kept visitors away from the Oct. 12 event. According to festival organizers, Capitol and National Park police estimated that between 40,000 and 45,000 people came to the festival, an increase from last year's estimate of 30,000 visitors. "It's amazing, absolutely amazing, that this many people want to be associated with books," Chief of Staff Jo Ann Jenkins said as she surveyed long lines of book lovers waiting on the National Mall late in the day to collect authors' signatures.