91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — The Preservation Week adventure continues with New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry as National Spokesperson for Preservation Week for 2013 (April 21-27).

Author of 10 novels, including seven Cotton Malone books, Berry’s latest work was published last spring, “The Columbus Affair” (Ballantine, May 2012), with new protagonist, Tom Sagan, a disgraced Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. His newest novel, “The King’s Deception,” available May, 2013, heralds the return of popular bookseller, Cotton Malone.

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

A devoted student of history, Mr. 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 .

As national spokesperson, Berry will appear in print and digital public service announcements (PSAs) promoting Preservation Week. The PSAs will be placed in magazines and online throughout the spring. 91´«Ã½ also offers free customization of the PSAs for libraries.

Other promotional materials include a sample op-ed, proclamation, press release and scripts for use in radio ads. All tools are available at .

As part of the Preservation Week 2013 celebration, look for more announcements concerning Mr. Berry’s participation.

are available, including a poster and a bookmark. All graphics products can be purchased through the .

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 website for more information on how you can get involved.

Preservation Week is also part of the 91´«Ã½ @ your library campaign. Visit the page.

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