Steve Berry named Preservation Week 2012 national spokesman

CHICAGO – New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry has been named the first national spokesperson for Preservation Week (April 22-28, 2012).

Berry will make an appearance at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Dallas. He will keynote the Preservation Week 2012 Kick Off, sponsored by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), from 10:30 a.m. – noon on Monday, Jan. 23, in the Convention Center, room A201/202.

Berry is the author of nine novels, including his most recent book, “The Jefferson Key,” the seventh in the Cotton Malone series. His newest work is the forthcoming “The Columbus Affair” (Ballantine, May 2012), featuring as protagonist Tom Sagan, a disgraced Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

Berry’s works have been translated into 40 languages with more than 12 million books in print in 51 countries worldwide. Other titles include “The Emperor’s Tomb,” “The Paris Vendetta,” “The Alexandria Link” and “The Venetian Betrayal.”

A devoted student of history, Berry and his wife, Elizabeth, founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding the preservation of the fragile reminders of our past. Since then, they have traveled the world raising much-needed funds for a wide range of historic preservation projects.

In a recent Wall Street Journal interview (Nov. 2, 2011), Mr. Berry notes, “What are we losing when that [on being told of the rapid loss of our historical record] happens? We’re losing windows to the past, thoughts to the past and ideas to the past, and that really affected me.”

A native of Georgia, Steve Berry graduated from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. You can learn more about Steve Berry and History Matters at steveberry.org.

As National Spokesperson, Berry will appear in print and digital public service announcements (PSAs) promoting Preservation Week. Libraries will be able to customize PSAs and other promotional materials including a press release and scripts for use in radio ads. ALA Graphics products supporting Preservation Week are available, including a poster and a bookmark. All Graphics products can be purchased through the ALA Store.

Preservation Week, a joint initiative of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), the Library of Congress and IMLS, encourages libraries and other institutions to connect our communities through events, activities and resources that highlight what we can do, individually and together, to preserve our personal and shared collections. Visit the Preservation Week 2012 website for more information or how you can get involved.

Preservation Week is also part of the ALA @yourlibrary campaign. Visit the preservation@yourlibrary page at www.atyourlibrary.org/passiton.

ALCTS is a division of the American Library Association.