91´«Ã½

CHICAGO – The Public Library Association (PLA) will celebrate its annual award winners and offer a special President’s Program featuring author Barry Lopez from 1 - 2:30 p.m. on June 29, at the Las Vegas Convention Center–N249, during the 2014 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

begins with recognition of the this year. These award winners demonstrate the best in public library service, innovation and outreach. Following the awards presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy essayist and author Barry Lopez. Lopez is best known as the author of "Arctic Dreams," for which he received the National Book Award. Among his other nonfiction books are "About This Life" and "Of Wolves and Men," which was a National Book Award finalist. He is also the author of several award-winning works of fiction, including "Field Notes," "Winter Count" and a novella-length fable, "Crow and Weasel." His most recent book is a short story collaboration with artist Barry Moser titled "Outside." He has also written for such high profile publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, The Paris Review, Orion, and National Geographic. His books, along with his magazine work, reflect a life of travel and cultural inquiry that has taken him to nearly seventy countries.

Barry Lopez has received numer­ous awards and prizes, including the Honorary Geographer 2011 Award from the Association of American Geographers, as well as the Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the John Burroughs and John Hay Medals, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, five National Science Foundation Fellowships and a Lannan Founda­tion Fellowship, as well as Pushcart Prizes in fiction and nonfiction.

The PLA President’s Program and Awards Presentation is an exciting part of PLA’s line-up of conference programming at 91´«Ã½ Annual. and sponsored by PLA offer valuable and timely education for public library professionals. For complete conference details and to register, visit the conference website, .

is a division of the 91´«Ã½. PLA’s core purpose is to strengthen public libraries and their contribution to the communities they serve. Its mission is to enhance the development and effectiveness of public library staff and public library services.