PRESS RELEASE Wednesday, July 2, 2014 CONTACTS: Gregg Dodd, Marketing Director Columbus Metropolitan Library (614) 849-1043 office, (614) 205-7816 cell [email protected] www.columbuslibrary.org

Ben Zenitsky, Marketing & Communications Specialist Columbus Metropolitan Library (614) 849-1045 office, (614) 315-3766 cell [email protected] www.columbuslibrary.org

Author Wes Moore booked for 2014 Celebration of Learning, Library Foundation fundraiser

COLUMBUS—Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) Foundation has booked Wes Moore as its featured speaker for its 22nd annual Celebration of Learning on Friday, Nov. 7. Celebration of Learning, Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation’s annual fundraiser and unique, literary evening, is held in the atrium and stacks of CML’s Main Library, 96 S. Grant Ave. The event features remarks from an acclaimed author and the presentation of The Julian Sinclair Smith Award for Lifelong Learning to a Columbus resident who has demonstrated dedication to reading, education and lifelong learning.

Moore is a Times bestselling author, youth advocate, U.S. Army veteran and TV host of OWN’s “Beyond Belief” and PBS’s “Coming Back with Wes Moore.”

After a troubled childhood in , Moore was sent to a military school in . He turned his life around and graduated as a commissioned officer, going on to study at and Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship. While he was in college, Moore learned of another man named Wes Moore – also from Baltimore – serving a life sentence for murder. Moore’s correspondence and subsequent interactions with the man inspired his 2010 book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, which became a New York Times bestseller.

Moore served as Captain in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2006, then, as a White House Fellow, was a special assistant to then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from 2006 to 2007. He serves on the board of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), was a featured speaker at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and is a renowned expert on Islamic radicalism. --More--

Moore hosts “Beyond Belief” on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, chronicling jaw-dropping true stories from around the world. Moore also hosted the PBS documentary miniseries “Coming Back with Wes Moore,” profiling U.S. servicemen and women returning home from active duty.

He lives with his wife, Dawn, and their daughter in New York.

The Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation helps fund the library’s capital needs as well as programs such as Homework Help Centers, Job Help Centers, Ready to Read Corps and Summer Reading Club, supporting the needs of kids, teens and adults.

Visit foundation.columbuslibrary.org for more information.

Follow Wes on : wesmoore1 and Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheOtherWesMoore.

Columbus Metropolitan Library has served the people of Franklin County, Ohio for 141 years. With its Main Library and 20 branches, CML is well known for signature services and programs like Homework Help Centers, Reading Buddies, Summer Reading Club and the Ready to Read Corps. The library’s Strategic Plan supports the vision of “a thriving community where wisdom prevails,” which positions CML to respond to areas of urgent need: kids unprepared for kindergarten, third grade reading proficiency, high school graduation, college readiness and employment resources.

CML was named a 2011 National Medal Winner by the Institute for Museum and Library Services for work in community service, the highest honor for libraries and museums. In 2013, Columbus Metropolitan Library became the only large public library in the country to be rated a 5-Star Library for all six years of Library Journal’s industry standards rating program.

Following image is available electronically upon request.

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