The annual Library of Congress National Book Festival kicks off this week with the theme “Open a Book, Open the World.’ In line with the theme, this year’s event features a story map that features books from across the globe. The festival’s broad integration of social media also tells the story of how important the Library of Congress, home to the U.S. Copyright Office, is to the expansion of knowledge, innovation and creativity. 

First launched 20 years ago at the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill, the National Book Festival today now includes podcasts, livestream events and also harnesses the reach of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Flickr and iTunes to help make the festival more accessible to all. 

As Copyright and Information Policy Librarian at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Laura Quilter told Re:Create’s Copy This podcast, that libraries are often overlooked for the important role they play in serving the common good: preserving important works to make knowledge accessible to the public, no matter your station in life. With the U.S. Copyright Office’s founding mission to fulfill copyright’s Constitutional purpose and to promote creativity and free expression for the benefit of all, it only makes sense that Congress chose to house the U.S. Copyright Office within the walls of the Library of Congress. 

With so many virtual ways for readers, authors, educators and other literary enthusiasts across the globe to participate this year, the event also helps underscore the critical role our nation’s copyright laws, especially the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, play in enabling the social media platforms that make the festival a global event.