For immediate release | April 26, 2011

ALTAFF President’s Program to feature author Marilyn Johnson

91´«Ã½

PHILADELPHIA - The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), a division of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), will host the ALTAFF President’s Program, featuring best-selling author and library advocate Marilyn Johnson, from 10:30 a.m. to noon CDT on Monday, June 27 at the 2011 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in New Orleans.

ALTAFF President Rod Gauvin will host Marilyn Johnson, author of "This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians can Save Us All" (). Johnson has been a national champion of libraries and was the moving force behind ALTAFF’s , a large and growing group of authors who are willing and ready to speak out at the local and national levels about the importance of libraries. A book signing will follow.

In addition to "This Book Is Overdue!," Johnson also wrote "The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries," which was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize and selected as a Borders Original Voice. She recently recorded the book for a digital download edition. Both books have also received the Washington Irving Prize. After studying poetry at the University of New Hampshire, Johnson was an editor for Esquire and Outside and a staff writer for Life magazine.

“Marilyn Johnson made the brilliant suggestion that ALTAFF create a new category in ALTAFF for authors,” said Gauvin. “Through the Authors for Libraries program ALTAFF is able to enlist the support of authors, who have been some of the strongest spokespersons for libraries in all of our communities. ”

For more information about the ALTAFF President’s Program and other ALTAFF events and programs at the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference, visit .

is a division of the 91´«Ã½ that supports citizens who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries. ALTAFF brings together library Trustees, advocates, Friends, and Foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit , or contact Jillian Kalonick at (312) 280-2161 or jkalonick@ala.org

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Contact:

Jillian Kalonick