The Idaho Commission for Libraries will promote Idaho’s literary heritage at the 10th annual National Book Festival. The Festival, sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2010 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. More than 130,000 festival goers are expected to explore the Festival’s Authors Pavilion, Book Sales Pavilion, Let’s Read America Pavilion, and Pavilion of the States. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) sponsors the Pavilion of the States to promote reading and the literary traditions of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. At Idaho’s table in the Pavilion, Marj Hooper and Teresa Lipus will visit with attendees and distribute information that demonstrates how Idaho promotes reading, books, literacy, and libraries.

The Idaho Commission for Libraries has chosen My Darlin’ Clementine, young adult fiction by Boise author Kristiana Gregory, for the Idaho book to feature at the Pavilion. Clementine is the sixteen-year-old daughter of a miner living in the fictional mining town of Nugget (based on Idaho City) during the height of Idaho Territory’s gold rush. Nugget’s saloons, gambling houses, crime, and vigilante groups are tempered by establishments such as the post office/library, “[not] much bigger than a fancy outhouse.” The story addresses the struggles of a family trying to survive when the primary breadwinner is no longer earning money and a young woman pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor, against the wishes of her drunken father. While researching the history of Idaho City, Gregory was delighted to learn that the mining town had a library and she wove it into her story as an anchor institution in the community. The Commission looks forward to answering questions about other Idaho writers and books as well. It is always a pleasure to share information about Idaho libraries and literacy projects at the Festival’s Pavilion of the States and to see so many families excited about reading.

Commission staff attends the Festival through a grant from IMLS administered by the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA).